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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 

CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 



ILLUSTRATED AND PROVED 

BY 

SCRIPTURE TESTIMONY, 

AS 

FORETOLD BY MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, 

AND 

FURTHER ILLUSTRATED BY 

JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES, 

SAYING, 

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have 

right to the tree of life, and may enter in through 

the gates into the city." 



BY JOHN LOCKE 



BOSTON : 

PRESS OF J. HOWE, No. 39, MERCHANTS ROW. 

1843. 



U* ; • * ) 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, by 

JOHN LOCKE, 
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court in Massachusetts. 






TO THE READER 



The Compiler would be most happy if he could en- 
gage the candid attention of the reader to the important 
contents of the following pages. But he is most earnest 
in his wishes that every person into whose hands the 
following work may fall, would examine it carefully and 
impartially, and not pronounce judgment against it, till 
he has, in sincerity and good conscience, deliberately 
considered its various and interesting matter. Our Lord 
cautioned his disciples to take heed how they heard ; and 
surely there is the same necessity in our days, to take 
heed how we read, lest on the one hand we should close 
hastily and incautiously with every new doctrine pre* 
sented to us, and on the other hand should reject every 
one, merely because it seems at first reading to contro* 
vert our pre-conceived opinions. The compiler is not 
ashamed to confess his entire confidence in the doc- 
trines which he here presents to the public. He is 
happy also to find, that he is not quite singular in his 
sentiments, but that many others both learned and un* 
learned, bear testimony to the same truths. He thought 
it his duty, therefore, to endeaver to make known to his 
fellow creatures, what he has found to be so profitable 
to himself; and he will venture to affirm, that the reader 
will ftnd nothing in this work, but what will have a ten- 



IV 

dency to make mankind good and virtuous, if they will 
live accordingly ; what every good man therefore must 
needs wish might be true, and what none but bad men 
would desire to prove false. 

The reader is requested to remember that that is the 
truest doctrine which has a tendency to make thee live 
in the best and wisest manner ; and he is the most en- 
lightened teacher, whose lessons lead thee to the Lord of 
heaven, and open thy heart most thoroughly to the re- 
ception of the Divine love and wisdom. Try the fol- 
lowing work impartially by this test ; compare it with 
the word of God, that never-failing touchstone of all 
true doctrine ; be not over attentive to the opinions of 
erring men, but judge for thyself, taking the Lord and 
his holy Word for the directors of thy judgment. Above 
all, be careful to live well, so that thy judgment may be 
freed from evil prejudices, and disposed aright to the 
contemplation of truth, and then receive or reject the 
doctrine here presented to thee, according as thou findest 
it in agreement with thy more composed and serious 
thoughts. 



THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 



" My yoke is easy." 

Some people believe, that to live a spir- 
itual life which will lead to heaven, is very 
difficult, by reason that they have been told 
that man must renounce the world and the 
things of the world, which consist chiefly 
in riches and honors; that they must walk 
continually in pious meditation about God, 
about salvation, and about eternal life ; and 
that they must spend their life in prayers, 
in reading the Word and other pious books. 
This they call renouncing the world, and 
living in the spirit and not in the flesh. 
But the case is altogether otherwise, for to 
the intent that man may receive the life of 
heaven, it is altogether necessary that he 
live in the world, and in office and employ- 
ment there, and that in such case by moral 
and civil life he receive spiritual, and that 
spiritual life cannot otherwise be formed 
with man, or his spirit prepared for heaven,. 

If the life of man be explored by ra* 
tional intuition, it is discovered to be three- 
fold, viz : Spiritual life, moral life, and civil 
1* 



life. And those lives are distinct from each 
other ; for there are men who live a civil 
life, and yet not a moral and spiritual life ; 
and there are men who live a moral life, 
and still not a spiritual ; and there are 
those who live both a civil life, a moral 
life, and a spiritual one together ; the latter 
are they w T ho live the life of heaven, but 
the former are they who live the life of 
the world separate from the life of heaven. 
From these considerations it may be mani- 
fest, in the first place, that spiritual life is 
not separate from natural life, or from the 
life of the world, but that the former is 
conjoined with the latter as the soul with 
its body ; for moral and civil life is the ac- 
tivity of spiritual life, since spiritual life 
consists in willing well, and moral and civil 
life in acting well. 

The laws of spiritual life, the laws of 
civil life, and the laws of moral life, are de- 
livered in the ten precepts of the deca- 
logue. In the first three, the laws of spirit-, 
ual life ; in the following four, the laws of 
civil life ; and in the three last, the laws of 
moral life. The merely natural man lives 
in the external form, according to the same 
precepts, in like manner as the spiritual 
man, for in like manner he worships the 
Divine, frequents the temple, hears ser- 
mons, composes his face to devotion, does 
not commit murder, nor adultery, nor theft; 



does not bear false witness, but these things 
he does merely for the sake of himself and 
the world, to keep up appearances. Hence 
the same person, in the internal form, is 
altogether opposite to what he appears in 
the external, because in heart he denies 
the Divine, in Worship acts the hypocrite. 
When left to himself and his own thoughts 
he laughs at the holy things of the church, 
believing that they serve merely as a bond 
to bind the simple. It is otherwise with 
those who have in heart acknowledged the 
Divine, and in the transactions of their 
lives have had respect to Divine laws, and 
have acted according to the three first pre- 
cepts of the decalogue, equally as accord- 
ing to the rest, when these are let into their 
internals ; it is like coming from shade into 
light, from ignorance into wisdom, and from 
a sorrowful life into a blessed one, inas- 
much as they are in the Divine, thus in 
heaven. 

That it is not so difficult to live the life 
of heaven as is believed, is evident from 
this consideration, that nothing more is nec- 
essary than for man to think, when any 
thing presents itself to him which he knows 
to be incincere and unjust, and to which he 
is inclined, that it ought not to be done be- 
cause it is contrary to divine precepts. If 
he accustom himself so to think, and from 
so accustoming himself, acquires a habit, he 



8 

then by degrees is conjoined to heaven, and 
so far the higher principles of his mind are 
opened, and so far as these are opened, so 
far he sees what is insincere and unjust ; 
and in proportion as he sees these evils, in 
the same proportion they are capable of 
being shaken off, for it isr impossible that 
any evil can be shaken off until it be seen ; 
this is a state into which man may enter 
from free desire, for who is not capable of 
thinking as above from freedom ? But when 
he has made a beginning, then the Lord 
operates all sorts of good with him, and 
gives him the faculty not only of seeing 
evils, but also of not willing them, and 
finally of holding them in aversion ; this is 
what is meant by our Lord's words, " My 
yoke is easy, and my burden is light," — 
Matt. xi. 30. So the difficulty of resisting 
evils increases also in proportion as man 
commits evils from the will, for in the same 
proportion he accustoms himself to evils, 
until at length he does not see them, and is 
next led to love them, and from the delight 
of love to excuse them, and by all kinds of 
fallacies to confirm them, saying that they 
are allowable and good. 

These observations are made to the in- 
tent that it may be known, that a life which 
leads to heaven is not a life abstracted from 
the world, but in the world, and that a life 
of piety without a life of charity, which is 



only given in the world, does not lead to 
heaven ; but that a life of charity, which 
consists in acting sincerely and justly in 
every function, in every engagement, and 
in every work, from an interior principle ; 
thus from a heavenly origin, which origin 
is in that life when man acts sincerely and 
justly, because it is agreeable to the Divine 
law, does lead to heaven. This latter is 
not difficult, but a life of piety abstracted 
from a life of charity, is difficult, which 
nevertheless leads away from heaven, in the 
same proportion that it is believed to lead 
to heaven. 

THE UNITY OF GOD. 

The Holy Scriptures, and the doctrines 
of all Christian churches thence derived, 
maintain that there is a God, and that He 
is One, and nothing can proceed from God 
but what partaketh of his essense, and thus 
is himself, and is called Divine. Such are 
the Holy Scriptures as to their inmost con- 
tents; but in their derivative and subordi- 
nate contents, they are accommodated to 
the understandings of men, and in these 
contents the Divine is alike present, but 
in another form, for God himself, as he 
dwelleth in the inmost contents of the 
word, cannot be seen by any creature. — 
Thus, when Moses desired to behold the 



10 

glory of Jehovah, he was informed that no 
one can see God and live ; which is equally 
true of the inmost contents of the word, 
wherein God is in his being and in his es- 
sence. The holy Scriptures are as a mir- 
ror, wherein man seeth God, every one 
after, a manner and measure peculiar to 
himself; this mirror is composed of those 
truths that a man learneth from the w r ord, 
and imbibeth into his soul by a suitable 
life and conversation, from whence it is 
evident that the holy Scriptures are the 
fulness of God. 

Again, the Scriptures declare that in the 
beginning God created the heavens and the 
earth; that he is before all things, and that 
by him all things consist ; and that all 
things which are, exist, and subsist in the 
universe are from him. Hence it follows, 
that he is infinite, that he is the very and 
the only substance, and also the very and 
the only form. But the human mind being 
finite cannot comprehend the infinity of 
God, as he is in himself. It may, however, 
behold him obscurelv, as it were behind, 
even as Moses was permitted to see his 
back parts. By the back parts of God, are 
signified the visible objects of creation, and 
in particular such things in the Word as 
come under human perception. Hence it 
appears how vain it is to desire to know 
what God is in his essence, or in his sub- 



11 

stance ; and that it is enough to acknowl- 
edge him from things finite, that is, from 
things created, in which he infinitely is. 

Again ; the Scriptures speak of God as 
the Redeemer and Saviour of his people, 
saying, "I am Jehovah thy God, thou shalt 
know no God but me, for there is no 
Saviour beside me." Thus saith Jehovah 
thy Redeemer, I am Jehovah, that maketh 
all things by myself alone. So in a great 
variety of passages in Scripture, the same 
doctrine is taught. From these, and sev- 
eral other passages, it must be evident to 
every man who hath the use of his under- 
standing, and whose mind is opened by 
such use, that God, w 7 ho is one, descended 
and was made man, for the purpose of ef- 
fecting the work of redemption. 

God could not redeem mankind from con- 
demnation and death by any other process 
than that of assuming the humanity ; for 
redemption consisted in the destruction of 
sin, and bringing the heavens into an order- 
ly arrangement, and renewing the church 
on earth by these means ; and there was no 
other possible method by which the Omnip- 
otence could effect these purposes, than by 
assuming the humanity ; just as there is no 
possibility for a man- to work without hands 
and arms, wherefore the humanity is call- 
ed, in the word, the arm of Jehovah. In 
like manner it is impossible for any one to 



12 

enter into a fortified city, and destroy the 
temples of its idols, unless he be furnished 
with mediate powers suited to such a de- 
sign. God was omnipotent in the- accom- 
plishment of that divine work, by means of 
his humanity. For God who is in inmost 
and thus in purest principles could not pos- 
sibly, by any other means, descend to ulti- 
mate or lowest principles, in which man- 
kind were at that time comparatively, as 
the soul cannot act without a body, or as it 
is impossible to conquer enemies while 
they remain out of sight. 

Jehovah, as he is in himself, cannot by 
$11 his omnipotence destroy death, nor him 
that has the power of death, unless he be 
in ultimate as he is in first principles. He 
is in ultimate in his humanity, wherefore 
he is called, in the word, the first and the 
last, the Alpha and the Omega, the begin- 
ning and the ending. 

There are two things which constitute 
the essence of God, divine love and divine 
wisdom ; or divine good and divine truth. 
That Jehovah God descended as divine 
truth, which is the Word, appeareth from 
John : " In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God, and the Word 
was God ; all things were made by him." 
The reason why divine truth is there sig- 
nified by the Word, is; because the Word, 
which is received in the church, is divine 



13 

truth itself, for it was dictated by Jehovah 
himself; and whatever is dictated by Jeho- 
vah is divine truth in its purity. That the 
Lord, when in the world, was divine truth, 
is evident from his own words, where he 
says, " I am the way, the truth and the 
life." Again ; we know that the Son of 
God is come, and has given us an under- 
standing to know the truth, and we are in 
the truth, in his Son Jesus Christ; this is 
the true God and eternal life. Again, ".he 
that doeth the truth cometh to the light;" 
besides many other places, where by light 
is meant divine truth. 

It is to be observed, that all the strength, 
virtue and power of God, is in divine 
truth, derived from divine good. This 
was the reason why Jehovah God descend- 
ed as divine truth, which is the Word ; and 
on this account it is said by David, "Gird 
thy sword upon thy thighy O Mighty, as- 
cend in thy majesty, ride upon the Word 
of Truth, and thy right hand shall teach 
thee marvellous things, thine arrows are 
sharp, and thy foes shall fall under thee." 

The quality of good and truth, when 
separated, appears manifestly from the state 
and nature of man, for all the good that is 
in him hath its residence in the will, and 
all the truth that is in him hath its resi- 
dence in the understanding; and the will 
with good that is in it, hath no power of 
2 



14 

action, of operation, of speech, or of sensa- 
tion, but by means of the understanding. 
All its virtue and strength is thence produc- 
ed into effect, and consequently owes its 
efficacy to truth, of which the understand- 
ing is the receptacle and habitation. The 
case is, in this respect, similar to the opera- 
tion of the heart and the lungs in the body ; 
for the heart, without the respiration of the 
lungs, is incapable of producing cither mo- 
tion or sensation, whereas the respiration of 
the lungs derived from the heart, produceth 
both. Men on earth, who are principled 
in divine truths from the Lord, have power 
over evil and falses, and consequently over 
whole legions of devils, who, considered in 
their true essences, are nothing else but 
evils and falses. The reason why such 
strength is inherent in divine truth is, be- 
cause God is good itself, and truth itself; 
and created the universe by means of di- 
vine truth, and all the laws of order, by 
which he preserveth the universe, are 
truths. It is, therefore, written in John, 
"that by the Word all things were made." 
Again, by David, " By the Word of the 
Lord were the heavens made, and all the 
host of them by the breath of his mouth." 
The reason why Jehovah God came into 
the world as divine truth was, that he might 
accomplish the work of redemption. Hi- 
vine good alone has no power to effect these 



15 

purposes, but divine truth derived from di- 
vine good has all power to effect them. 
For as omnipotence, omniscience and om- 
nipresence, are properties of the divine 
wisdom, derived from the divine love, God 
is omnipotent, inasmuch as he hath all 
power from himself, and the power of all 
other beings is derived from him. His 
power and will are one, and since he wills 
nothing but what is good, therefore he can 
do nothing but what is good. God also is 
good itself; and, therefore, while he doeth 
good, he is in himself; and to go out of 
himself, is impossible. Hence it is mani- 
fest that his omnipotence proceeds and ope- 
rates within the sphere of the extension of 
good, which is infinite ; for this sphere fills 
the universe from its inmost centre, and all 
and every thing therein ; and from that in- 
most centre governs the things that are 
without, so far as they enter into conjunc- 
tion with it according to their respective 
orders ; and where they do not enter into 
such conjunction, this sphere still supports 
them, and labors with might to reduce them 
to an order concordant with that universal 
order, in which God is in his omnipotence, 
and according to which he acteth. The 
divine omnipotence cannot go out of itself, 
as to enter into contact with any thing that 
is evil, or in the least promote evil itself, 
for evil turneth itself away, and is entirely 



16 

separate from God. From these considera- 
tions we may judge how extravagant is the 
folly of those who imagine, and more of 
those who believe, but still more of those 
who teach that God can condemn, curse, 
cast into hell, or predestinate the soul of 
any person to eternal death, or that he can 
avenge injuries, be angry and punish, for 
he cannot even turn his face away from any 
one ; these and the like acts being contrary 
to his essense, and consequently contrary 
to himself. Who cannot discern that good 
and evil are opposites? and that supposing 
God by virtue of his omnipotence, to be 
capable of willing and doing both one and 
the other? he would, in fact, be able to 
will and to do nothing, and consequent- 
ly would have no power, much less omnip- 
otence. 

That God is omniscient, that is, per- 
ceiveth, seeth, and knoweth all things, is a 
consequence of his being wisdom itself, 
and light itself; that God perceiveth, seeth 
and knoweth all things, even to the most 
minute, which are done according to order, 
is a consequence of the nature of order, 
which deriveth its universality from the 
singulars of which it is composed ; for sin- 
gulars considered collectively are termed 
a universal, as particulars considered col- 
lectively are called a whole ; and the uni- 
versal, together with all its most singular 



17 

component parts, is a work that coheres to- 
gether as one, so that no part can be touch- 
ed and affected, but all the rest have some 
perception of it. It is owing to this qual- 
ity of order, obtaining in the universe, that 
a like quality obtaineth in every part of 
creation, as may appear in many instances 
taken from visible objects. The human 
body consisteth of general and particular 
parts, and the general parts include partic- 
ulars in them, and are so neatly and fitly 
connected with them, that they have a mu- 
tual dependence upon each other ; thus the 
head, from the brain contained in it, gov- 
erneth the whole body, with all its parts, as 
its subjects. In this way, our Lord being 
the head of the church, perceiveth, seeth 
and knoweth all things, even to the most 
minute, that are done according to order. 

That God, from the things which are ac- 
cording to order, knoweth and seeth all and 
every thing that is done contrary to order, 
is a consequence of his not keeping man in 
evil, but withholding him from it ; thus not 
leading him, but striving with him. From 
this continued striving, struggling and re- 
acting of evil, and the false against his good 
and truth, that is against himself, God per- 
ceiveth both their quantity and their qual- 
ity, which is a consequence of his omni- 
presence, in all and every part of his own 
order, and at the same time of his omnis* 
2* 



18 

cience in all and every thing that occurs or 
exists therein, just as an ear well tuned, 
and formed to harmony, distinctly perceives 
the quantityand quality of discord arising 
from sounds that are unharmoniousand dis- 
sonant ; or as the eye, attentive to a hand- 
some object, is more sensible of its beauty 
when contrasted with deformity. For who- 
soever is principled in truth, can see what 
is false 1 , and the reason is, that good is in the 
heat of heaven, and truth in its light, where- 
as evil is in the cold of hell, and the false 
in its darkness. 

From what has been said above, it is ev- 
ident that God is omniscient in hell, as well 
as in heaven, and also amongst men upon 
earth, and that he thus perceiveth, seeth 
and is acquainted with evils and falses, by 
virtue of the good and truths in which he 
himself is, and which in their essense are 
himself; for it is written, "If- 1 climb up 
into heaven, thou art there, if I make my 
bed in hell thou art there." Ps. exxxix. 8. 
Again ; u Though they dig into hell, thence 
shall my hand take them." Amos ix. 2, 3. 

Man has power against evils and falses, 
from the divine omnipotence, in propor- 
tion as he liveth according to divine order ; 
for none can resist evils and falses thence 
originating but God alone, for all evils and 
the falses thence, are from hell, and are 
there connected as one single body, just as 



19 

all the varieties of good and truth are con- 
nected in heaven. For as was observed 
above, the whole heaven appeareth before 
God as a single man ; and on the other 
hand, the whole hell, as a single gigantic 
monster; wherefore to oppose one single 
evil, or one single false originating from 
evil, is to oppose that gigantic monster, 
which none can do but God, by virtue of 
his omnipotence. Man, by virtue of the 
divine omnipresence, is in God, in pro- 
portion as he liveth according to order, 
because God is omnipresent, and wherever 
he is in his own order, there he is in him- 
self. 

Now since man was created a form of di- 
vine order, God is in him ; and so far as 
man lives according to divine order, God is 
in him after a full and plenary manner. — 
But if he does not live according to divine 
order, God is still in him, but he is not in 
God ; for thus the Lord expressed his de- 
sire that he should be in man, and that man 
also should be in him. " Abide in me, and 
I in you." John xv. 4. 

The absence of God from man is as im- 
possible to be supposed, as the absence of 
the sun, by heat and light, from the earth ; 
earthly objects, however, do not enjoy the 
sun's virtue, but as they are recipient of 
his proceeding heat and light, so man is 
only under the influence of spiritual heat 



20 

arid spiritual light, or under the influence 
of the good of love and the truths of wis- 
dom in proportion as he lives in, and accord- 
ing to order. 

It appears from the foregoing, that the 
work of redemption was a work purely di- 
vine, which could only be effected by an 
omnipotent God. 

The reason why it was necessary for this 
God to be incarnate, that is to be made 
man, in order to effect redemption, is be- 
cause Jehovah God, such as he is, in his in- 
finite essense, cannot approach man, nei- 
ther can man approach God. Therefore 
he said to Moses, who was desirous of see- 
ing him, a Thou canst not see my face, for 
there shall no man see me and live. 55 

Consequently, unless Jehovah God had 
assumed the humanity, and had thus cloth- 
ed himself with a body, which is in last or 
ultimate principles, it would have been 
vain to have attempted any like redemp- 
tion ; for who can attack an enemy, unless 
he approach towards him, and be furnished 
with arms for the battle. The combat 
which the Lord waged with the devil was 
not an oral combat, as between reasoners 
and disputers, fo^ here such kind of war- 
fare would have had no effect; but it was a 
spiritual combat, or a combat of divine truth, 
from divine good, which was the Lord 5 s very 
principle of life, which, when seen in the 



21 

understanding, or felt in the heart, is irre- 
sistible to all the evils and falses which op- 
pose it, for such power is contained in it, 
the infernal genii flee away at the mere 
perception of it. According to Isaiah, 
"They shall go into the caverns of the 
rocks, and into the clefts of the dust, for 
the dread of Jehovah, when he ariseth to 
affright the earth." Chap. ii. 19. And in 
Revelation, " They shall hide themselves 
in the dens of the rocks, and in the rocks 
of the mountains, and shall say to the moun- 
tains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from 
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, 
and from the wrath of the Lamb." Chap- 
ter vi. l/>, 16, 17. 

The two purposes for which the Lord 
came into the world, and by which he sav- 
ed men, are redemption and the glorifica- 
tion of his humanity. These two are dis- 
tinct from each other, but yet they are one 
with respect to salvation. The meaning 
and nature of redemption was shown in 
the foregoing articles, as that it was a com- 
bat with evils, and for the orderly estab- 
lishment of the church on earth. 

But glorification was the uniting the 
Lord's humanity with the divinity of his 
Father, which was effected by degrees, and 
was fully completed by the passion on the 
cross. So every man, on his part, ought to 
wake approaches towards God ; and as he 



22 

approaches, God entereth on his part, in 
the same proportion. It is in this case as 
with a temple, which must first be built, 
and that with the hands of men, and after- 
wards consecrated, and lastly sanctified by 
prayer, that God would make it the abode 
of his presence, and unite himself with his 
church assembled there. The reason why 
that union was fully effected by the passion 
on the cross, is, because this was the last 
temptation which the Lord underwent dur- 
ing his abode in the world, and conjuction 
is effected by temptations ; for in them, 
man, to all appearance, is left to himself 
alone. Yet it is but in appearance, for God 
is then most present with him, in the in- 
most principles of his mind, and supports 
him ; when therefore a person conquereth 
in temptation, he is then most intimately 
conjoined with God ; and this was the case 
with the Lord in the union with his Father. 
That the Lord, during his suffering on the 
cross, was left to himself, is evident, from 
his exclamation at that time, " My God, 
m) r God, why hast thou forsaken^me !" And 
also from his own words, " No man taketh 
my life from me, but I lay it down of my- 
self. I have power to lay it down, and I 
have power to take it again. This com- 
mandment have I received of my Father." 
John x. 18. 



<* 



23 

It is evident then, from this, that the 
Lord did not suffer as to his divinit}% but 
as to his humanity ; and that at the time of 
suffering, the most intimate, and thereby 
the most complete union was effected. But 
although redemption and the passion of the 
cross are two distinct things, yet they are 
united, and make one in the matter of 
salvation, since the Lord, by union with 
his Father, which was completed by the 
passion of the cross became a Redeemer 
forever. 

Concerning the glorification, which sig- 
nifies the uniting of the divine human of 
the Lord with the divinity of the Father, 
which was fully completed by the passion 
of the cross, the Lord thus speaks in the 
gospel : 

'• When Judas was gone out, Jesus said, 
now is the Son of man glorified, and God 
is glorified in him. If God be glorified in 
him, God shall also glorify him in himself, 
and shall straightway glorify him." John 
xiii. 31, 32. Here glorification is spoken 
both of the Father and of the Son ; for it 
is said God is glorified in him, and shall 
glorify him in himself. It is evident, there- 
fore, that glorification signifies union. 

u Father, the hour is come, glorify thy 
Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." 
John xvii. 1 — 5. This is to intimate that 
the union was reciprocal. As it is also 



24 

said, the Father was in him, and he in the 
Father, "Ought not Christ to suffer these 
things, and to enter into his glory?" Luke 
xxiv. 26. Glory in the word, when spo- 
ken of the Lord, signifieth divine truth 
united with divine good. Hence it ap- 
pears evident, that the humanity of the 
Lord is divine. 

The reason why the Lord was willing 
to be tempted, even to his suffering on 
the cross, was, because he was the grand 
Prophet; and prophets formerly signified 
the doctrine of the church, derived from 
the Word ; and thence they represented 
the church, according to its nature and 
quality, for all the particulars of his suffer- 
ing or passion were significative of such 
things as relate to the profanation of the 
Word. That the Lord was the Prophet, is 
evident from these passages: "That a 
prophet should be raised up out of their 
brethren, whom they should obey." Deut. 
xviii. 15 — 19. "x\nd there came a fear 
on all, and they glorified God, saying, that 
a great prophet is raised up among us." 
Luke vii. 16. "And thej^ said of Jesus, 
this is the Prophet of Nazareth." Matt. 
xxi. 11. 

That the prophets represented the state 
of the church to which they belonged, with 
respect to doctrine derived from the Word, 
and with respect to life according to such 



25 

doctrine, is evident from the following : 
The prophet Ezekiel was ordered to lie on 
his left side, and upon his right side. Also 
to take wheat and barley, and beans, and 
lentiles, and millet, and vetches, and make 
bread thereof; and also to make a cake of 
barley with dung of a man, and because 
that it might not be so, he was permitted to 
make it of cow's dung. The injunction was 
thus expressed : Lie thou upon thy left 
side, and the iniquity of the house of Israel 
upon it ; the number of the days that thou 
shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their ini- 
quity, for I will give the years of their 
iniquity, according to the number of days, 
three "hundred and ninety days, to bear the 
iniquity of the house of Israel ; and when 
thou hast accomplished them, thou shalt lie 
again on thy right side, to bear the iniquity 
of the house of Judah. Ezek. iv. 1 to 15. 

That the prophet herein bore the iniqui- 
ties of the house of Israel, and the house 
of Judah, and did not take them away, thus 
that he represented them, and pointed them 
out,, but did not expiate and atone them, is 
plain from what follows in the same chap- 
ter. And Jehovah said, even thus shall 
the Children of Israel eat their unclean 
bread. Behold I will break the staff of 
bread in Jerusalem, that they may want 
bread and water, and be desolate a man and 
his brother, and consume away for their 



26 

iniquity, verses 13 — 16, 17, The same, 
therefore, is understood of the Lord, where 
it is said, surely he bore our griefs, and car- 
ried our sorrows. Jehovah hath laid on him 
the iniquity of us all ; by his knowledge 
shall he justify many, for he shall bear their 
iniquities,, Isa. liii, 1 — 12. That the Lord, 
as the prophet, represented the state of the 
Jewish church with respect to the word, is 
evident from the particulars of his suffer- 
ings ; as, that he was betrayed by Judas; 
that he was taken, and condemned by the 
chief priests and elders ; that he was buffet- 
ed ; that he was struck on the head with a 
reed ; that he was crowned with thorns ; 
that they divided his garments, and cast 
lots upon his vesture ; that they crucified 
him ; that they gave him vinegar to drink ; 
that they pierced his side ; lhat he was 
buried, and that he rose again the third day. 
His being betrayed by Judas, signified 
that he was betrayed by the Jewish nation, 
who were in possession of the word, and 
who were represented by Judas. His be- 
ing taken and condemned by the chief 
priests and elders, signified that he was 
dealt with in like manner by the whole 
Jewish church. His being buffeted and 
spit upon, scourged and struck on the head 
with a reed, signified that the like had been 
done to the word, with regard to its divine 
truths. His being crowned with thorns, 



27 

signified that the Jewish nation had falsifi- 
ed divine truths. The division of his gar- 
ments, and the casting lots upon his vesture, 
signified that they had dissipated all the 
truths of the word, but had not injured its 
spiritual sense, which the Lord's vesture 
represented. His crucifixion signified the 
destruction and profanation of the whole 
word. The offering him vinegar to drink, 
signified that the truths of the word were 
altogether falsified, wherefore he did not 
drink it. The piercing of his side, signifi- 
ed that they had totally extinguished all 
the truth, and all the good of the word. 
His burial, signified the rejection of what 
remained from the mother. His rising the 
third day, signified his glorification or the 
union of his humanity, with the divinity of 
the Father. Hence we see, that to bear 
iniquities, does not mean to remove them, 
but only to represent the pronation of the 
truth of the word ; every subject is united 
with his king by virtue of obedience to his 
commands, particularly if he undergoes 
any hardship for his Sovereign, for that 
union is promoted by such means is accord- 
ing to the law inscribed on nature. There- 
fore the Lord saith, I am the good shep- 
herd, the good shepherd layeth down his 
life for the sheep, and for this my Father 
loves me. John x. 11 — 17. 

We are taught by our preachers, that 



28 

God the Father, being full of wrath against 
mankind, on account of sin, that he excom- 
municated them from his favor; but be- 
cause he is merciful, he persuaded his Son 
to descend, and take upon himself the de- 
termined curse, and thus expiate the wrath 
of the Father, that he might again look 
with an eye of compassion on mankind ; 
and also that this was effected by the Son, 
who suffered himself to be crucified as the 
accursed of God, and that the Father was 
by this means appeased, and out of love to- 
ward his Son, cancelled the sentence of 
damnation. But they who understand the 
Word in the spiritual sense, will therein 
see, that God is love itself, and goodness it- 
self, and that these constitute his essense, 
and consequently that it is a contradiction 
to say, that mercy itself, or goodness itself 
can behold man with an angry eye, and still 
abide in its own divine essence. Such dis- 
posision can be ascribed only to a wicked 
man, or a spirit of hell ; it is therefore blas- 
phemy to ascribe them to God. 

But if we inquire into the cause of this 
false judgment, we shall find it to be this, 
that men have mistaken the passion of the 
cross for redemption itself; and from this 
one point concerning the passion of the 
cross, as constituting the sum of redemp- 
tion, many more shocking and impious opin- 
ions may still take rise, and go forth into 



29 

the world, until the words of the prophet 
shall be fulfilled. The priest and the 
prophet have erred through strong drink, 
they stumble in judgment, all tables are 
full of vomit and filthiness. Isa. xxviii. 7, 
8. From this idea of God and redemption, 
the whole system of theology hath lost its 
spirituality, and is become in the lowest de- 
gree natural ; and yet on the idea enter- 
tained of God, and that of redemption, 
which makes one with salvation, every 
thing that has relation to the church de- 
pends, and as the idea of God and redemp- 
tion is become merely natural, of conse- 
quence all those things are merely natural 
which the heads of the church maintain in 
their forms of doctrine, and this idea must 
of necessity give birth to nothing but falses, 
because the natural man is in opposition to 
the spiritual man, and thus regards all spir- 
itual things visionarj r . 

This idea concerning God and redemp- 
tion, pervades the faith of the church at 
this day. It requires men to pray to God 
the Father, that he would remit their sins 
for the sake of the cross and blood of his 
Son, and to the Son that he would pray and 
intercede for them, and to the Holy Spirit, 
that he would justify and sanctify them ; 
and what is all this but to supplicate three 
distinct Gods one after another, but in real! 
ty to worship no God. 
3* 



30 

OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

The Holy Spirit is the divine virtue and 
operation, proceeding from the one only- 
God, in whom is a divine Trinity ; conse- 
quently the word is signified by the Holy 
Spirit ; and in this sense the Lord himself 
is also the Holy Spirit. But whereas, in 
the church at this day, the divine operation 
which is specified by the Holy Spirit, is 
actual justification, therefore this divine 
operation is here considered as the holy 
Spirit ; and of this we now propose chiefly 
to speak, especially as the divine operation 
is effected by means of the divine truth 
which proceeds from the Lord ; and that 
which proceedeth is of one and the same 
essense with him from whorti it proceeds, 
like these three, the soul, the body, and the 
proceeding virtues, which together form 
one essense [; in man, a merely human es- 
sense, but in the Lord, divine and hu- 
man also, these being after his glorification 
united together like the prior with its pos- 
terior, and like essense with its form ; thus 
the three essentials, called Father, Son and 
Holy Spirit, in the Lord are one. That 
the Lord is divine truth itself, and that the 
holy Spirit is also the same, is evident from 
the following passages: There shall come 
forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and the 
spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the 



31 

spirit of wisdom and intelligence, the spirit 
of counsel and might; he shall smite the 
earth with the rod of his mouth, and wi th 
the breath of his lips shall he slay the wick- 
ed, and righteousness shall be the girdle of 
his loins, and truth the girdle of his reins. 
Isa. xi. 1 — 4, 5. When the enemy shall 
come in like a flood, the spirit of Jehovah 
shall lift up a standard against him ; then 
shall the Redeemer come to Zion. Isa. lix. 
19, 20. The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is 
upon me; Jehovah hath anointed me, to 
preach good tidings to the poor hath he 
sent me. Isa. lxi. i. Luke iv. 18. 

This is my covenant, my spirit that is 
upon thee, and my words which I have put 
in thy mouth from henceforth and forever. 
Isa. lix. 21. Inasmuch as the Lord is the 
very truth itself, all that which proceedeth 
from him must of necessity be truth ; and 
this is understood bv the Comforter, who is 
called the Spirit of Truth, and the holy 
Spirit, according to his words. I tell you 
the truth, it is expedient for you that I go 
away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter 
will not come to you; but if I go away, I 
will send him unto you. John xvi. 7. I 
will ask the Father, and he will send you 
another comforter, the spirit of truth, whom 
the world cannot receive, because it seeth 
him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know 
him ; for he abideth with you, and shall be 



32 

with you. I will not leave you comfort- 
less, I will come to you, and ye shall see me. 
John xiv. 16 — 19. That the divine virtue 
and operation signified by the holy Spirit, 
consists in general in reformation and re- 
generation ; and in proportion as these are 
effected, in renovation, sanctification and 
justification, and in proportion as these are 
effected, in purification from evils, remis- 
sion of sins, and finally salvation. 

The Lord operateth those saving graces 
continually, in every man, for they are the 
steps that lead to heaven ; and the Lord 
willeth the salvation of all men. The com- 
ing of the Lord, the redemption which 
he wrought, and the sufferings which he 
endured, were all for the sake of man's 
salvation. 

The operation of these virtues is the 
holy Spirit, which the Lord sendeth to 
those who believe in him, and prepare 
themselves to receive him, which may ap- 
pear by the following: A new heart also 
will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
within you. I will put my spirit in the 
midst of you, and cause you to walk in my 
statutes, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. Create in 
me a clean heart, O, God, and renew a right 
spirit within me ; cast me not away from 
thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit 
from me; restore unto me the*joy of thy 
salvation, and establish me with thy free 



33 

spirit. Ps. li. 10, 11, 12. Make you a new 
heart, and a new spirit, why will ye die, 
O house of Israel. Ezk. xviii. 31. Thus 
the Lord operateth such a will and under- 
standing in those who practise what is good, 
and believe in what is true. He also giveth 
his spirit to them that walk in the way of 
salvation ; and man ought also to operate 
on his part. Therefore it is said, make ye 
a new heart, and a new spirit, why will ye 
die, O house of Israel. That the Lord 
operateth those virtues in such as believe 
in him, and do his commandments, the same 
is meant by the mission of the holy Spirit; 
that is, that the Lord reforms, regenerates, 
renews, and purifies from evils, and finally 
saves them, is confirmed by his words, in 
John. Jesus said, whoso believeth on me, 
as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall 
flow rivers of living water. This said he 
of the Spirit, which they that believe in 
him should receive, vii. 38, 39. 

The reason why they who believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, receive those spirit- 
ual virtues, is, because he is salvation and 
eternal life, to all such as are in him, and 
he in them. The salvation and eternal life 
of men are the first and last ends proposed 
by the Lord; and since the first and last 
ends contain in them the mediate ends, it 
follows that the above mentioned spiritual- 
virtues are together, and at the same time 



34 

in the Lord, and from the Lord in man. — 
But still they come forth in succession ; for 
the human mind grows like the body, save 
only that the body grows in stature, and the 
mind in wisdom. And thus the mind is ex- 
alted from one region to another, from the 
natural region to spiritual, and from this to 
the celestial ; and in the last region man is 
called wise ; in the middle, intelligent ; 
and in the first, or lowest, scientific. But 
this exaltation of mind is not sudden, but 
effected by degrees ; in proportion as a man 
stores his mind with truths, and conjoineth 
those truths with goods. And in the same 
proportion Christ may be said to be in him. 
And as man perceives and acknowledges 
those goods and truths, and puts them into 
use by doing the things which they teach, 
he may be said to be in Christ. It is in this 
case as in the building of a temple; while 
it is* building, all the component parts exist 
together in the end proposed, which is the 
worship of God. 

That the Lord operateth of himself, from 
the Father, and not visa versa. By operat- 
ing, is here meant the same, as by sending 
the holy Spirit, since the above mention- 
ed operations of reformatiop, regeneration, 
justification from evils, and the remission of 
sins, which are at this day ascribed to the 
holy Spirit, as a God by himself, are the 
operations of the Lord. That these opera- 



35 

tions are of the Lord, from the Father, and 
not visa versa, may be confirmed by the 
Word. 

When the Comforter is come, whom I 
will send unto you from the Father, even 
the spirit of truth, which proceedeth from 
the Father, he^ shall testify of rne. John 
xv. 26* The Comforter, the spirit of truth, 
shall not speak of himself, but shall receive 
of mine, and shall show it unto you. All 
things that the Father hath are mine ; there- 
foresaid I, that he shall take of mine, and 
shall show it unto you. John xvi. 13, 14, 15. 

Jesus breathed on his disciples, and said 
unto them, receive ye the holy Spirit. 
John xx. 22. From these passages, and 
various others, it plainly appears, that the 
Lord sendeth the holy Spirit, that is, that 
it is he who effecteth those operations 
which are at this day ascribed to the holy 
Spirit as a God by himself. That God the 
Father doth not operate those virtues of 
himself by the Son, but that the Son ope- 
rateth them of himself from the Father, is 
evident from the following : No one hath 
seen God at any time ; the only begotten 
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he 
hath manifested him. John i. 18. Hence 
it follows, that God the Father operateth in 
the Son, and upon the Son, but not by or 
through the Son. The reason why the 
Lord saith that the spirit of truth proceed- 



36 

eth from the Father, is, because it pro* 
eeedeth from God the Father in the Son, 
and out of the Son from the Father ; where- 
fore he saith, In that day ye shall know that 
I am in the Father, and the Father in me, 
and ye in me, and I in you. John xiv. 11, 
20. What is here asserted,, may also be il- 
lustrated and explained as follows: The 
apostles, after they had received the gift of 
the holy Spirit, preached the gospel through 
a great part of the world ; and this of them- 
selves from the Lord, for Peter taught and 
wrote in one manner, James in another, 
John in another, and Paul in another, each 
according to his own intelligence ; the Lord 
filled them all with his spirit, but each took 
according to the quality of his peculiar per- 
ception, and exercised it according to the 
quality of his power. 

The same truth is capable of receiving 
further illustration, from the nature and 
state of man. Evil derived from parents, 
which is therefore called hereditary, acteth 
in and upon every man ; so, also, doth good 
from the Lord ; the latter acting from with- 
in, the former from without. Now, if evil 
acted by or through man, he would not be 
capable of reformation, nor yet a subject of 
blame ; and in like manner, if the Lord 
thus acted by or through him, he would not 
be capable of reformation. But since each 
depends on the free choice of man, he be- 



37 

comes guilty when he acteth of himself 
from evil, and guiltless when he acteth of 
himself from the Lord, or from good. Thus 
the capacity of reformation is owing to this 
freedom of choice with which every man 
is endowed. 

Again ; the soul acteth in and upon the 
body of every man, but not by or through 
the body, for the body acteth of itself from 
the soul. The soul and the body do not 
consult and deliberate with each other, nor 
does the soul command or request the body 
to do, or to say, this thing or that, nor does 
the body request the soul to give and sup- 
ply it with power and assistance; for all 
that the one hath belongs to the other, and 
this mutually and reciprocally. 

Just so it is in respect to the Lord's di- 
vinity and humanity ; for the divinity of 
the Father is the soul of his humanity, and 
the humanity is his body ; and the humani- 
ty doth not inquire of its divinity what it 
shall speak, or what it shall do. Wherefore 
the Lord saith, at that day ye shall ask in 
my name, and I say not unto you that I will 
pray the Father for you, for the Father 
himself loveth you because ye have lov- 
ed me. John xvi. 26, 27. At that day, 
meaneth after his glorification, that is after 
his perfect and complete union with the 
Father. 

4 



88 
THE DIVINE TRINITY. 

The doctrine of the Trinity is to the 
church what the inmost sanctuary and altar 
were to the temple* The expedience of 
this doctrine may appear from hence, that 
by this alone we acquire a right idea of 
God. That there is a divine Trinity, of 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is manifest- 
ly declared in the Word. Thus, go ye and 
teach all nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Spirit. Matt, xxviii. 19. — 
Again ; there are three that bear record in 
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the 
Holy Spirit. 1 John, v. 7. 

There iare general, and also particular 
essentials of every one thing ; which, to- 
gether, constitute an essence. The gen- 
eral essentials of every one man, are his 
soul, body and operation; and that these 
constitute one essence, is evident from this 
circumstance, that one existeth by deriva- 
tion from the other, and for the sake of the 
other, in a continued series, for man hath 
his beginning from the soul, which is the 
very essence of the seed, and which is not 
only the initiating, but the producing cause 
of all the parts of the body in their respec- 
tive order, and afterwards of all acts pro- 
ceeding from the soul and body united, 
which are called operations. Wherefore, 



39 

from this circumstance of the production 
of one from another, it is evident that these 
three are of one essence, and therefore 
called three essentials. 

That these three essential, soul, body 
and operation, did and do exist in the Lord 
God the Saviour, is generally acknowl- 
edged. That his soul was from Jehovah 
the Father, can only be denied by anti- 
christ ; for in the Word he is called the 
Son of God, the only begotten Son, of the 
Father. Wherefore the Divine of the 
Father answering to the soul in frian, is his 
first essential, that the Son, who was born 
of the mother Mary, is the body of that 
divine soul, is a consequence of its con- 
ception ; for nothing is provided in the 
womb of the mother except a body, con- 
ceived by, and derived from, the soul ; this, 
therefore, is the second essential. That 
operations constitute the third essential, is 
a consequence of their proceeding from 
soul and body together, for such things as 
proceed are of the same essence of those 
which produce them ; that the three essen- 
tials, which are Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit, are one in the Lord, like soul, body 
and operation in man, is evident from the 
words of the Lord, declaring that he and 
the Father are one, and that the Father is 
in him and he in the Father ; and in like 
manner, he and the Holy Spirit are one, 



40 

inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is the Divine 
that proceedeth out of the Lord from the 
Father, as shown above- 
When it is said that Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit are the three essentials of God, 
like soul, body and operation in man, it 
may appear to human reason as if those 
three essentials were three distinct per- 
sons, which cannot possibly be true ; but 
when it is understood that the divine of 
the Father, which constitutes the soul, and 
the divine of the Son, which constitutes 
the body, and the divine of the Holy Spirit, 
or the operation of the two combined, are 
the three essentials of one God, this the un- 
derstanding mind can apprehend, for there 
is peculiar divinity of nature in God the 
Father, in the Son, derived from the Father, 
and in the Holy Spirit proceeding from 
both, which being of the same essence and 
the same mind, constitute one God. But 
if those three divine natures are called per- 
sons, and have each of them their particu- 
lar attributes allotted them, as when impu- 
tation is ascribed to the Father, mediation 
to the Son, and operation to the Holy Spirit, 
in this case the divine essence is divided, 
which yet is one and indivisible, and thus 
none of the three is God in perfect full- 
ness, but each in subtriplicate power, which 
is a conceit that every sober and sensible 
man must, of necessity, reject. How plain 



- 41 

therefore is it to discern a Trinity in the 
Lord from the trinity discernible in every 
individual man. For in every individual 
man there is a soul, a body, and operation ; 
so is there also in the Lord, inasmuch as in 
him dwells all the fullness of the God-head 
bodily ; wherefore the Trinity in the Lord 
is divine, but in man it is human. 

It is written in the Word, that Jehovah 
God dwells in light inaccessible ; who then 
could approach him unless he had come to 
dwell in accessible light, that is, unless he 
had descended, assumed the humanity, and 
in this made himself the light of the world. 
It is therefore necessary that we should go 
to the God of the Word, and thus to the 
Word itself, and enter by the door into the 
sheepfold, that is, into the church, and then 
shall we see as from a high mountain, xot 
onlv the errors of others, but also our own 
former bewildered wanderings in the dark 
forest at the foot of the mountain ; then 
shall we learn that all power in heaven and 
in earth is given to the Son, who is the 
Word itself, and that he alone is able 
to lead us into the true Canaan which 
abounds with good and truth, the real milk 
and honey which is free to every one in 
that estate, which state is thus described by 
the prophet Jeremiah : This shall be the 
covenant which I will make with the house 

of Israel ; after those days, saith the Lord, 

4* 



42 

I will put my law in their inward-parts, 
and write it in their hearts ; and they shall 
teach no more every man his companion, 
and every man his brother, saying, know 
the Lord, for they shall all know me from 
the least of them unto the greatest of them. 
Chap. xxxi. 33, 34. And again, in Isaiah, 
There shall go forth a rod out of the stem 
of Jesse, and truth shall be the girdle of 
his reins; then the wolf shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down 
with the kid. Chap. xi. For the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of God; 
that is, the external man shall then be fill- 
ed with the good and truth which consti- 
tute the internal man, and thereby shall his 
passions be subdued, and he become sub- 
servient to the internal man. 

CONSCIENCE. 

Such persons as enjoy conscience when 
they act according to its dictates, are in the 
tranquillity of peace, and in eternal bless- 
edness; and they suffer a certain uneasi- 
ness, or want of tranquillity, when they act 
contrary to it. But what conscience is, 
may be illustrated by examples. A priest 
possesses conscience, who has a spiritual 
willingness to teach truths, that he may 
promote the salvation of his flock ; but if he 
does it with any other view, or to any other 



43 

end, he is without conscience. A judge, 
who regards justice only, and administers 
it with judgment, possesses conscience ; 
but if he is swayed by interest, by friend- 
ship, or favor, he is without it. Again ; 
supposing a man to be in possession of 
anothers property, without his knowledge, 
so that he might detain it as his own, with- 
out fear of the law, or the loss of honor and 
reputation ; and notwithstanding this, sup- 
posing that he restores it to its proper 
owner, because it is not his own ; such a 
person has conscience, for he performs an 
act of justice for its own sake. Lastly ; 
supposing a man has it in his powder to ob- 
tain some place or office, but resigns his 
claim to another who is also a candidate, 
because he knows him to be better quali- 
fied to be useful to society, such a one, in 
thus consulting the good of society, ap- 
proves himself possessed of a good con- 
science. All such as have conscience when 
they speak, speak from their heart, and act 
from the heart, in all their dealings, for 
their minds not being divided, they speak 
and act that which they understand and be- 
lieve to be true and good. Hence it fol- 
lows, that they, whose minds are eminent- 
ly enlightened with the truths of faith, and 
who enjoy a clearer perception, may have 
a more perfect conscience than those who 
are less enlightened, and whose perception 



44 

is more obscure. In a true conscience, con- 
sists the very essence of man's spiritual life; 
for in this his faith is conjoined with chari- 
ty. So that to act from conscience, is, with 
those who possess it, to act from their spir- 
itual life ; and to act contrary to conscience, 
is to act contrary to their life. Besides, 
who cannot learn what conscience is, from 
common discourse ; as when it is said of 
any particular person, he has a conscience, 
who does not understand by the expression 
that he is a just and upright person ; and 
on the contrary, when it is said, he has no 
consoience, who does not understand the 
expression to signify that he is destitute of 
integrity. 

THE SACRED SCRIPTURE; OR, WORD OF 
THE LORD IS DIVINE TRUTH ITSELF. 

It is universally confessed, that the Word 
is from God, is divinely inspired, and of 
consequence holy ; but still its divinity is 
not well understood at this day. To those 
who read in the letter, it appears very like 
common writing, composed in a strange 
style ; and they will naturally say, what is 
the meaning of this or that passage ; is it 
possible this should be divine ? is it possi- 
ble that God, whose wisdom is infinite, 
should speak in this manner? 



45 

But he who reasons thus., does not reflect 
that Jehovah the Lord, who is God of 
heaven and earth, spake the word by Mo- 
ses and the prophets ; and that, consequent- 
ly, it must be divine truth. Nor does he 
consider that the Lord the Saviour, who is 
the same with Jehovah, spake the word 
written by the evangelists, many parts from 
his own mouth, and the re:*t from the spirit 
of his mouth, which is the Holy Spirit, by 
his apostles. Hence it is, as he himself de- 
clares, that in his words there is spirit and 
life. John vi. 63. Jesus said to the woman 
at Jacob's well, If thou knowest the gift 
of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, 
give me to drink, thou wouldest ask of him 
and he would give thee living water. — 
Whoso shall drink of the" water which I 
shall give him, shall never thirst ; but the 
water that I shall give him, shall be in him 
a fountain of water springing up into eter- 
nal life. John iv. 6 — 10. By Jacob's well 
is here signified the w T ord ; for which rea- 
son the Lord, who is the Word, sat there, 
and conversed with the woman, and by 
living water, is signified the truth of the 
word. 

The reason why the words of the Lord 
are truth and life, is, because he is the truth 
and life, as he teaches in John. I am the 
way, the truth and the life. Chap. xiv. 6. 
Again; chap. i. 1, 2, 3: In the beginning 



46 

was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and Qod was the Word. In him was life, 
and the life was the light of men. By the 
Word is meant the Lord as to truth, in 
which alone there is life and light. Hence 
it is, that the Word, which is from the Lord, 
is called a fountain of living water. Jer. ii. 
13. The Word is sometimes called the 
sanctuary, and the tabernacle, wherein the 
Lord dwelleth with man. 

The natural man, however, cannot still 
be persuaded to believe, that the Word is 
divine truth itself, in which is divine wis- 
dom and divine life. There are two things 
which proceed from the Lord, viz., divine 
love and divine wisdom ; or what is the 
same thing, divine good and divine truth, 
and the Word in its essence, is both. And 
hence the Word conjoineth man with the 
Lord, and openeth heaven, and thereby 
fills man with the goods of love, and with 
the truths of wisdom. But they only re- 
ceive life from the Word, who read it with 
a desire to apply the truths thereof to the 
regulation of their lives. But the reverse 
of this happens to those who read it to pro- 
cure for themselves worldly riches and rep- 
utation. 

The following illustration is given that 
the natural man may have some idea of the 
spiritual sense. In the Word we find fre- 
quent mention made, sometimes of Edom, 



47 

of Moab, of the children of Ammon, of 
the Philistines, of Tyre and Sidon, and of 
Gog ; they who do not know that by these 
names the things of heaven and the church 
are signified, may be easily led to suppose 
that the word speaks much about people 
and nations; and but little about heaven 
and the church; but if such persons were 
acquainted with what is signified by these 
people and nations, this might lead them 
out of error into truth. Frequent mention 
is made of gardens, groves, wood, as the 
olive, the vine, the cedar, the poplar, and 
the oak ; and also of lambs, sheep, goats, 
calves, oxen, and likewise of mountains, 
hills, valleys, fountains, rivers, waters, and 
the like. Now, without an understanding 
of the spiritual sense of the Word, we may 
be led to suppose that nothing further is 
meant by these things than what is express- 
ed in the letter ; for he little thinketh, that 
by a garden, a grove, and a wood, are 
meant wisdom, intelligence, science; that 
by the olive, the vine, the cedar, the pop- 
lar, and the oak, are meant the good and 
truth of the church, under the different 
qualities of celestial, spiritual, rational, nat- 
ural, and sensual. That by a lamb, a sheep, 
a goat, a calf, and an ox, are meant inno- 
cence, charity and natural affection ; that 
mountains, hills and valleys, are meant the 
higher, the lower, and the lowest things, 



48 

relating to the church. The case is in like 
manner altered, when the reader is aware 
that by Egypt, is signified what is scien- 
tific ; by Ashur, what is rational ; by Edom, 
what is natural ; by Moab, the adulteration 
of good; by the children of Ammon, the 
adulteration of truth ; by the Philistines, 
faith without charity ; by Tyre and Sidon, 
the knowledge of goodness and truth ; by 
Gog, external worship without internal ; 
and that in general, by Jacob, in the Word, 
is meant the church natural ; by Israel, the 
church spiritual ; and by Judah, the church 
celestial. 

When the mind is opened to this knowl- 
edge, it may be able to conceive that the 
Word treats solely of heavenly things, and 
that the earthly things mentioned in it are 
only the subjects wherein those heavenly 
ones are contained. B 4 ut take another in- 
stance for illustration of truth. We read 
in Isaiah, In that day there shall be a high- 
way out of Egypt into Assyria, and the 
Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the 
Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians 
shall serve with the Assyrians. In that 
day shall Israel be the third with Egypt 
and with Assyria, a blessing in the midst 
of the land, which Jehovah Zebaoth shall 
bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt, my peo- 
ple, and Assyria, the work of my hands, 
and Israel, my blessing. Chap. xix. 23.-— 



49 

By these words, in their spiritual sense, is 
signified that at the time of the Lord's com- 
ing, the scientific, the rational and the spir- 
itual, should make one ; and that then the 
scientific should serve the rational, and both 
the spiritual ; for, as was said above, by 
Egypt is signified the scientific ; by Ashur 
or Assyria, the rational ; and by Israel, the 
spiritual. By the repetition of the words, 
in that day, is meant the first and second 
coming of the Lord. 

In every thing divine, there is a first, a 
middle, and a last ; and the first passes 
through the middle to the last, and thereby 
existeth and subsisteth. Hence the last is 
the basis, the first also is in the middle, and 
by means of the middle in the last, and 
thus the* last is the continent and basis of 
its spiritual and celestial sense, and these 
three are called end, cause, and effect. — 
Thus every divine work is complete and 
perfect in the last, and likewise, that in 
the last is contained the whole, because 
the prior things are contained together in 
it. 

From this ground it is that b} 7 the num- 
ber three, in the Word, according to its 
spiritual sense, is signified what is com- 
plete and perfect, and the all or whole to- 
gether ; and because this is the significa- 
tion of that number, therefore it is so fre- 
quently applied in the Word, when that 
5 



50 

signification is intended to be expressed* 
as in the following places: 

Isaiah was to go naked and barefoot tfiree 
years. Jehovah called Samuel three times, 
and Samuel run three times to Eli, and Eli 
understood him the third time. David said 
to Jonathan, that he would hide himself 
three days in the field, and Jonathan after- 
wards shot three arrows at the stone, and 
David bowed himself three times before 
Jonathan. Elijah stretched himself three 
times on the widow's son. Elijah com- 
manded to pour water on the burnt offer- 
ing three times. 

Again ; Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven 
is like unto leaven, which a woman took 
and hid in three measures of meal, till the 
whole was leavened, Jesus said to Peter, 
that he should deny him thrice. Jesus 
said three times to Peter, lovest thou me? 
Jonah was in the whale's belly three days 
and three nights* Jesus said, destroy this 
temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 
Jesus prayed three times in the garden of 
Gcthsemane. Jesus rose again on the third 
day. Beside many other places, where the 
number three is mentioned, in all of which 
it denoteth a work finished and perfect, 
because such a work is signified by that 
number. 

There are three senses of the Word, the 
celestial sense, the spiritual and the natural. 



51 

The first sense is in the middle, and by 
means of the middle in the last, just as the 
end is in the cause, and by means of the 
cause in the effect. Hence appears the 
true nature and quality of the Word, viz : 
That in its literal sense, which is natural, 
there is contained an interior sense, which 
is spiritual, and in this an inmost sense, 
which is celestial ; and that the last sense, 
which is natural, and is called the literal 
sense, is the continent and basis of the two 
interior senses. 

The true doctrine of the Word, can be 
understood by those only who love truths 
for truth's sake, and apply them to the uses 
of life ; and the reason is, because they are 
in the Lord, and the Lord in them ; for the 
Lord is truth itself, and the Lord is then 
loved when men live according to his di- 
vine truth. The reason why the Word 
appears to such in its brightness and trans- 
parence is, because there is both a spiritual 
and a celestial sense in every part of the 
Word. Hence man acknowledgeth the 
truth from an interior perception, and after- 
wards sees it in his own thought, for per- 
ception comes from affection, and thought 
from perception ; and thence acknowledg- 
ment, which is called faith. The Word, as 
to its literal sense, is a divine medium of 
conjunction with the Lord, and of consocia- 
tion with angels of heaven ; and while man 



52 

understands the Word in the literal sense, 
the spiritual angels see it in a spiritual 
sense, and the celestial angels see it in a 
celestial sense. For instance, on reading 
the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. 
By murder, is understood by man not only 
the taking aw^y another's life, but likewise 
bearing malice and hatred in heart, and a re- 
vengeful spirit against any person ; whereas 
by murder a spiritual angel understandeth 
the destroying men's souls, and a celestial 
angel, by murdering, to hate the Lord and 
the Word. So with respect to the sev- 
enth commandment : Thou shalt not com- 
mit adultery. By committing adultery, 
man understandeth to commit whordom, to 
be guilty of obscene practices, and to en- 
tertain filthy thoughts ; whereas a spiritual 
angel, by committing adultery, would adul- 
terate the goods of the Word, and falsify 
its truths. But a celestial angel by adulte- 
ry would deny the divinity of the Lord, 
and profane the Word. Again, in the eighth 
commandment, thou shalt not steal. To 
steal, in the natual sense would be. to rob, 
to defraud, and under any pretence to take 
from another what belongs to him. But 
stealing spiritually, would be to deprive 
others of their truths and goods of faith by 
means of falses and evils; but a celestial 
angel by stealing, understandeth to at- 
tribute to himself what belongs to the 






53 

Lord, and to appropriate to himself what 
belongs to the Lord. Again, the ninth 
commandment, thou shalt not bear false 
witness. By bearing false witness, man 
understandeth also to tell lies, and to de- 
fame any person ; whereas a spiritual an- 
gel, by bearing false witness understands, 
to declare and endeavor to persuade others 
that what is false is true, and what is evil 
is good, and visa versa. But to a celestial 
angel, false witness means to blaspheme the 
Lord and the Word. These instances may 
serve to show, after what manner the spir- 
itual and celestial sense of thfc Word is un- 
folded and extracted from the natural sense, 
in which they are contained. But still the 
thoughts of angels and men make one by 
correspondences, like end, cause, and ef- 
fect ; for ends do actually exist in the celes- 
tial kingdom ; causes in the spiritual king- 
dom, and effects in the natural kingdom. 
Hence then the consociation of men with 
angels is effected by the Word. 

The reason why the consociation of man 
with the angels is effected by the natural 
or literal sense of the word is, because in 
every man, from creation, there are three 
degrees of life, the celestial, the spiritual, 
and the natural. Man, however, is in the 
natural degree, so long as he continues in 
this world, and at the same time so far in 
the spiritual degree, as he is principled 
5* 



54 

in genuine truths, and so far in the celes- 
tial degree, as he is principled in a life ac- 
cording to those truths ; nevertheless he is 
not admitted into the spiritual and celestial 
degrees, till after death ; wherefore, when 
the natural is put off by death, the spirit- 
ual and celestial remain. From what has 
been said, it must appear evidently, that 
the Word alone eontaineth spirit and life, 
as the Lord saith : The words which I 
speak unto you are spirit and life. John vi. 
63. The water that I shall give you shall 
be in you a well of water springing up 
into everlasting life. John iv. 14. Labor 
not for the meat that perisheth, but that 
meat which endureth unto everlasting life, 
which the son of man shall give unto you. 
John vi. 27. 

That the quality of the church depends 
on its doctrine is generally acknowledged, 
as also, that its doctrine must be drawn 
from the Word ; still it is not mere doc- 
trine but its soundness and its purity, which 
establisheth the church ; consequently the 
understanding of the Word, for mere doc- 
trine doth not establish and constitute the 
church in the heart of each individual man, 
but faith and life in agreement with it. — 
In like manner, the Word does riot estab- 
lish and constitute the church in the hearts 
of individuals, but a faith conformable to 
the truths, and a life conformable to the 



55 . 

goods, which each individual man extracts 
thence, and applies to his own state and 
case. The Word is as a mine,, in whose 
depths an abundance of gold and silver is 
contained ; or as a mine which, the deeper 
it is penetrated, exhibits precious stones of 
a higher and more excellent value ; and 
these mines are opened according to the 
understanding of the Word, for if it be not 
understood as it is, in its true nature, in its 
interior contents, and in its depths, it is 
impossible it should constitute the church 
among men. The Word among such as 
seek to collect thence the truth of faith and 
the goods of life, is like treasures hid in a 
field, and the members of the church have 
liberty to cultivate this field, and of taking 
what they please for their own use. 

When our Lord appeared among men, 
he likened the Jewish nation in conse- 
quence of their possessing the Word, to a 
rich man clothed in purple and fine linen, 
who fared sumptuously every day ; and 
yet this rich man had never extracted from 
the Word so much truth and good, as to 
show mercy and compassion to poor Laza- 
rus, who lay at his gate full of sores, for 
the Jews not only neglected to appropriate 
to themselves any truth from the Word, 
but they appropriated falses in such abun- 
dance, that at length no truth could be 
seen by them; for these are not only con- 



56 

sealed by falses, but also become obliterated 
and are rejected. Hence it was that they 
did not acknowledge the Messiah, although 
all the prophets had announced his advent. 

In many passages of the Word we find 
anger, wrath, and vengence, attributed to 
God; and it is said that he punishes, casts 
into hell, tempts, with many other expres- 
sions of a like nature. Now, where all 
these are believed in a childlike simplicity, 
and made the ground of the fear of God, 
and of care not to offend him, no man 
incurs condemnation by such a simple 
belief. But where a man confirmeth him- 
self in such notions, so as to be persuaded 
that anger, whath, vengence, and conse- 
quently passions which originate in evil, 
belong to God, and that he punishes man- 
kind, and casteth them into hell, under 
the influence of such anger, wrath, and 
vengeance ; in this case his belief is con- 
demnatory because he has destroyed genu- 
ine truth, which teaches that God is Love 
and mercy itself, and goodness itself; and 
being these, cannot be angry, wrathful, 
or revengeful. Where such evil passions 
are attributed in the Word to God, it is 
owing to appearances only, and such things 
are but appearances of truth. 

The Word is like a garden, which may 
be called a heavenly paradise, containing 
delicacies and delights of every kind, deli- 



57 

cacies of fruits, and delights of flowers, 
in the midst of which are trees of life, and 
beside them are fountains of living water. 
Whosoever is principled in divine truths, 
by virtue of doctrine, is in the midst of 
the garden, amongst the trees of life, and 
in the actual enjoyment of its delight. 
Where a man is not principled in truth by 
virtue of doctrine, but only from the litteral 
sense, he abides in the bounderies of the 
garden and sees nothing but forest scenery. 
It is to be observed that the literal sense 
of the Word is a guard to the genuine 
truths consealed in it, lest they should be 
injured, and it opperates as a guard; thus 
the literal sense can be turned in every 
direction, and be explained according to 
the reader's apprehension, without its in- 
ternal being hurt or injured, for no hurt 
ensues from the literal sense being under- 
stood differently by different persons, but 
the danger is, w r hen a man introduceth 
falses, which are contrary to divine truths 
as is the case with those and those only, 
who have confirmed themselves in falses, 
From this the Word suffers violence, to 
prevent which the literal sense is its guard, 
and it operates as such a guard with those 
who are in falses from a principle of relig- 
ion, and yet do not confirm them. This 
guard is signified by the cherubs, which 
after the expulsion of Adam and his wife 



58 

from the garden of Eden, was placed at 
the entrance, of which it is written, that 
w T hen Jehovah God had driven out the 
man, he placed at the east of the garden of 
Eden, cherubs, and a flaming sword, which 
turned this way and that, to keep the way 
of the tree of life, Gen. iii, 23, 24. By 
cherubs in this case is signified a guard ; by 
the way of the tree of life is signified 
admission to the Lord, which men have by 
means of the truths contained in the spirit- 
ual sense of the Word. Divine truth in 
its ultimates is represented by the flaming 
sword, which turned every way, which is 
like the Word in its literal sense, thus 
capable of being turned. The like is under- 
stood by the cherubs made of God over 
the two extremities of the propitiatory 
which was above the ark, in the tabernacle. 
Inasmuch as the Word in its ultimates is 
signified by cherubs, and also a guard, it is 
therefore written in the Pslams of David, 
Jehovah bowed the heavens, and came 
down, and he rode upon a cherub, xviii, 
10, 1 1. To ride on cherubs, and to sit upon 
them, meaneth, on the ultimate sense of 
the Word, Divine truth in the Word, with 
its nature and quality, is described by the 
four animals which are called cherubs, in 
Ezekiel, and likewise by the four animals 
in the midst of the throne, and near the 
throne, in Rev. iv. 6. 



59 

That the Lord, during his abode in the 
world, fulfilled all things contained in the 
Word, and that he was then made divine 
truth, or the Word, even in ultimates, is 
understood by these words in John : And 
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as 
of the only begotten of the Father, full of 
grace and truth. To be made flesh, is to be 
made the Word in ultimates, which he ex- 
hibited to his disciples at the transfigura- 
tion. Matt. xvii. 2. It is there said, that 
Moses and Elias appeared in glory, and by 
Moses is meant the Word which was writ- 
ten by him, and in general the historical 
Word ; and by Elias, the prophetical Word. 

That the Lord fulfilled all things con- 
tained in the law and the prophets, is evi- 
dent from his words. Jesus said, think not 
that I am come to destroy the law and the 
prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to 
fulfil. Matt, v, 17. That he, during his 
abode in the world, fulfilled all things con- 
tained in the Word, even to its most minute 
particulars, is evident from his own words: 
Verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth 
pass away, one jot, or one tittle, shall in no 
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 
Matt. v. 18. 

Our Lord, by virtue of his fulfilling all 
the good and all the truth contained in the 
Word, became good itself, and truth itself; 



60 

for whosoever thinketh and speaketh noth- 
ing but truth, becomes that truth ; and 
whosoever willeth and ddeth nothing but 
good, becometh that good ; and thus the 
Lord, in consequence of fulfilling all divine 
truth and divine good contained in the 
Word, became good itself, and truth itself, 
thus the Word. 

ON FAITH. 

All things belonging to the church have 
relation to ' charity and faith. Now, since 
charity and faith are distinctly two, and yet 
must be*united in man, so as to become a 
one, that he may be a member of the 
church, or that the church may be in him, 
it was a matter of dispute among the an- 
cients which of the two was the first or 
chief constituent of the church, and thus 
which had a claim to the title of first born. 

Faith, by which truth also is meant, is 
first in respect to time. But charity, by 
which good also is meant, is first in respect 
to end, and that which is first in respect to 
end, is actually the first. In the building 
of a temple, the first thing in respect to 
time is, to lay the foundation, and to erect 
the walls, to cover in the roof, and after- 
wards to provide an altar, and to raise a pul- 
pit ; but the first thing in respect to the 
end, is the worship of God therein, for the 



61 

sake of which all those preparations are 
made. So with regard to the building of 
a house ; the first thing in respect to time 
is, to build its exterior parts, and likewise 
to provide it with all conveniences within ; 
but the first thing in respect to the end, is 
a commodious dwelling for the master and 
his family. 

From these comparisons it is in every 
one's power to determine, what in reality 
is the first object of consideration. For in 
building a temple or a house, and in the 
preparation of a garden, we regard use 
in the first place, and keep that ever up- 
permost in the mind, while we provide the 
means for its promotion. We conclude, 
therefore, that the truth of faith is first in 
respect to time ; but that the good of char- 
ity is first in respect to end, and conse- 
quentty, that this being the primary object 
of regard, is actually the first born in the 
mind. 

But it is expedient to ascertain what faith 
and charity are, each in its respective es- 
sence ; and first, in regard to faith. 

True and saving faith, is a faith in the 
Lord God, the Saviour Jesus Christ. The 
reason why saving faith is a faith in God 
the Saviour is, because he is God and man ; 
and he is in the Father, and the Father in 
him, and thus one ; wherefore all who ap- 
proach him, approach the Father also at the 
6 



62 

same time, and thus approach the one and 
only God ; and no faith can be saving that 
is directed toward any other. That we 
ought to believe, or to have faith, in the 
Son of God, the Redeemer and Saviour, 
conceived of Jehovah, and born of the 
Virgin Mary, called Jesus Christ, is evi- 
dent from the injunctions so frequently re- 
peated by him, and afterwards by his apos- 
tles. Thus Jesus said : This is the will of 
him that sent me, that every one that seeth 
the Son, and believeth on him, may have 
everlasting life, and I will raise him up at 
the last day. John vi. 40. They said unto 
Jesus, What shall we do that we might 
work the works of God. Jesus answered, 
and said unto them, This is the work of God, 
that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. 
John vi. 28, 29. These things are written, 
that ye may believe, that Jesus is the Son 
of God, and that believing ye may have 
life in his name. John xx. 31. The same 
sentiment is also expressed in a variety of 
other passages in the same book ; and also 
by his apostles. Paul says, I live, yet not 
I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life 
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the 
faith of the Son of God. Gal. ii. 20. 

Faith in God the Saviour Jesus Christ, 
is necessary because such faith is directed 
towards a visible God, in whom is the in- 
visible, and faith toward a visible God, who 



63 

is man and God at the same time, gaineth 
admission into man ; for faith, in its essense, 
is spiritual, but in its form natural ; there- 
fore in man it becometh spiritual-natural, 
for whatever is spiritual is received in that 
which is natural, that man may possess it 
as a something real. Bare naked spiritual- 
ity, that it may affect man must be attend- 
ed with perception, and consequently with 
reception in his mind, and this is not given 
to man, except in his natural principle. 

But a faith without any spiritual essense, 
is no faith, having nothing in it of a saving 
nature, being destitute of any spiritual 
principle in its internals. Such is the faith 
of all those who deny the divinity of our 
Lord's humanity. In short, faith directed 
towards an invisible God, is actually blind, 
because the human mind does not see its 
God. Snch is the light of faith when direct- 
ed toward an invisible God, particularly 
when God is conceived to be spirit ; for 
what must be the consequence of such a 
conception, but that a man will look upon 
God as he would look upon ether, and will 
thus seek him in the universe, and not 
finding him there will fancy nature to be 
the God of the universe; when our Lord 
has declared that no one has ever heard the 
voice of the Father, or seen his shape. 
John, v. 37. That whosoever seeth and 
knoweth him, seeth and knovveth the 



64 

Father. John xiv. 7, 8, 9. But very dif- 
ferent from the above is a faith directed 
toward the Lord God the Saviour, who, by 
reason of his being God and man, may both 
be approached and seen in thought. Such 
a faith is not intermediate, but hath a term 
from which it originates, and to which it is 
directed back again, and being once receiv- 
ed, it abideth forever. The Lord also 
draws near to every person, in proportion 
as each person knows and acknowledges 
him, which is in proportion as each knows 
and does his commandments; which are, 
that he shun evils, and do good, and at 
length he cometh into his house, and maketh 
his abode with him, together with the 
Father, who is in him, according to his 
words in John, xiv. 21, 23. That man is 
created to inherit eternal life, and that 
every man may inherit it, provided only 
he live according to the means of salvation 
prescribed in the Word. 

There are two things which must be 
united, before it can be said that a man 
liveth well and believeth aright. These 
two things are called, in the Church, the 
internal man, and the external man ; when 
the internal wills what is good, and the 
external does what is good, then^hoth be- 
come one. Then will man subsist and 
act from God and God will act by man, 
and as a man comes into this order, he 



65 

comes into life, for God cannot do other- 
wise than save those who live according 
to his commandments and have faith in 
him. And as it is impossible for God to 
condemn any one who lives well and be- 
lieves aright, so is it alike impossible for 
him to save any one who liveth a bad life, 
and is in the belief of falses ; for this again 
is contrary to order, contrary to his own 
omnipotence, which can only proceed in 
the way of Justice, and the laws of Justice 
are truth, which cannot be changed ; for 
the Lord saith, it is easier for heaven and 
earth to pass, than for one tittle of the law 
to fail. 

Faith in its essence is truth, for it is truth 
in its light, and consequently, as truth may 
be procured, so also may faith j^for who, if 
he be so disposed, cannot approach the 
Lord, and who again if he be so disposed, 
cannot collect truths from the Word, and 
truth in the Word, and from the Word, 
affords light ; and truth in the light, is faith. 
The Lord, who is light itself, entereth by 
influx into every man, and in whomsoever 
he findeth truths collected from the Word, 
he enlighteneth those truths, so that they 
become constituents of faith, and this is 
what the Lord says in John, that they 
should abide in the Lord, and his words 
should abide in them. Chap. xv. 7. The 
words of the Lord are truths, which are 
6* 



66 

capable of being multiplied to infinity* 
Human intelligence also is from the same 
source. Divine truth has the capacity in- 
herent in it of being multiplied to infinity, 
because the Lord is essential Divine truth 
in its infinity, and he draws all towards 
himself, but men being finite, can only 
follow the vein of his attraction according 
to their capacities. 

The prolification of the truths of faith 
may be compared with the prolification of 
seeds in a field, which may be propagated 
beyond the limit of numbers. By seed in 
the Word, is meant truth; by field, doc- 
trine ; and by a garden, wisdom. The hu- 
man mind is like ground, wherein spiritual 
and natural truths, like so many seeds, are 
sown, and may be multiplied without end ; 
and this faculty is derived from the infinity 
of God, who is continually present in man, 
with his light and heat, and with his power 
of generation. 

Faith is perfected in proportion to the 
number and coherence of truths. This 
must be obvious to every one who takes a 
rational view of the subject, and considers 
the effect of multiplied series, when they 
cohere together as one ; for in such a case 
one particular strengthens and confirms 
another, and altogether they constitute a 
form, which, when in action, acts in unity, 
or as a one. Now, whereas faith in its es- 



67 

sense is truth, it follows that faith becomes 
more and more perfectly spiritual, in pro- 
portion to the number and coherence of 
truths, and consequently less sensual, and 
therefore more powerful against evils and 
falses, and thence more and more a living 
and saving faith. 

Man has power to procure for himself 
the life of charity and faith, by approach- 
ing the Lord, who is life itself, and who is 
continually inviting every man to come to 
him, saying, He that cometh to me shall 
never hunger, and he that believeth on me 
shall never thirst ; and him that cometh to 
me I will in no wise cast out. John vi. 35, 
37. But nothing of faith or charity are 
from man, but from the Lord alone, for it 
is w r ritten, That man can take nothing, ex- 
cept it be given him from above. John iii. 
27. And Jesus said, He that abideth in 
me and I in him, the same bringeth forth 
much fruit, for without me ye can do noth- 
ing. John xv. 5. Therefore man can of 
himself procure no other faith than such as 
is natural, which is a persuasion that a 
thing is true, because some person of au- 
thority has said it, nor any other than nat- 
ural charity, which is an endeavor to merit 
favor for the sake of some recompense, in 
which faith and charity there is no life 
from the Lord. Nevertheless, by such 
natural faith and charity, man prepareth 



63 

himself to become a receptacle of the Lord, 
and according to the manner and measure 
of such preparation, the Lord entereth and 
causeth man's natural faith to become spirit- 
ual faith, and his natural charity to become 
spiritual charity, and thus makes them 
both alive ; these effects are produced in 
those who approach the Lord, as the God 
of heaven and earth. Man was created an 
image of God ; a habitation in which God 
might dwell, wherefore the Lord saith, He 
that hath my commandments, and doeth 
them, he it is that loveth me, and I will 
love him, and will come unto him, and 
make my abode with him. John xiv. 21 — 
23. And again. Behold I stand at the 
door and knock, if any man hear my voice, 
and open the door, I will come in to him, 
and sup with him and he with me. Rev. 
iii. 20. Hence results this conclusion, that 
as man prepareth himself in a natural way, 
to receive the Lord, so the Lord entereth, 
and maketh all things within him spiritual, 
and thus alive. But in proportion as man 
does not prepare himself, he removeth the 
Lord from himself and doeth all things him- 
self, of himself; and whatsoever a man 
doeth of himself, hath not the least princi- 
ple of life in it. 

It is written, that man was created an 
image of God, and that God breathed into 
his nostrils the breath of life ; by which is 



69 

meant that man is an organ of life, and not 
life itself, for God could not create another 
being like himself; had this been possible 
there would have been as many Gods as 
men, nor was it in his power to create life, 
in like manner as light cannot be created, 
but he could create man a form receptive 
of life, as he created the eye a form recep- 
tive of light. Neither was it in God's 
power, nor can it be, to divide his own es- 
sense, that being one and indivisible. — 
Since, therefore, God alone is life, it fol- 
lows indisputably, that God, from his life, 
quickeneth, or giveth life to every man. 
This being the case, it follows also, that 
God entereth by influx into every man, 
with all his divine life, that is, with all his 
divine love, and all his divine wisdom, 
these two constituting his life, even as the 
sun of this world with all its essense, con- 
sisting of heat and light, entereth by influx 
into every tree, fruit and flower, and every 
object taketh in its portion of this common 
influx ; yet the sun does not divide his 
light and heat. Here the words of our 
Lord may be applied : Your Father mak- 
eth his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
good, and sendeth rain on the just and on 
the unjust. Matt. v. 45. 

The Lord also is omnipresent in his whole 
essense, and it is impossible for him to take 
any thing from it, but he giveth it whole, 



70 

and affords every man a capacity of taking 
little or much. He says, also, that he will 
abide with those who keep his command- 
ments, and that the faithful are in him, and 
he in them ; all things are full of God, and 
every one takes his portion from that 
fulness. 

Man is created to this end, that he may 
be conjoined with God, for he is created a 
native of heaven, and also of this world ; 
and as a native of .heaven, he is spiritual, 
but as a native of this world, he is natural ; 
and the spiritual man has power to think of 
God, and to be affected with what proceeds 
from him, and also to love him ; whence it 
follows that he has a capacity of being con- 
joined with God ; but conjunction with God 
can be formed only through the medium of 
the Son. For the Scripture says, that the 
Father was never either seen or heard, 
neither can be, consequently that he does 
not operate in man of himself, as he is in 
his essense, for the Lord says, No one 
knoweth the Father, but the Son, and he 
to whom the Son will reveal him. Matt, 
xi. 27. The reason is, because he is in the 
inmost principles of all things relating to 
wisdom and love, with which man can have 
no possible conjunction. Therefore Moses 
was told, that no man can see God and live. 
Exod. xxxiii. 20. But that conjunction 
may be had with the Father by the Son, 



71 

who is in the bosom of the Father. He 
alone has seen the Father, therefore he 
alone can reveal the things that are of God, 
as he declares in the following passages: 
In that day ye shall know that I am in my 
Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 
xiv. 20. I have given them the glory which 
thou hast given me, that they may be one, 
as we are one, I in them and thou in me. 
John xviL Jesus says, I am the way, the 
truth and the life, no man cometh unto the 
Father but by me ; he that seeth me seeth 
the Father also, and he that knoweth me 
knoweth the Father. John xiv. 6. I am 
the door, by me, if any man enter in, he 
shall be saved ; but he that climbeth some 
other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 
John x. If a man abide not in me, he is 
cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and 
man gather them, apd cast them into the 
fire, and they are burned, John xv. 6.. — 
The reason is, because the Lord our 
Saviour is Jehovah, the Father himself, in 
a human form ; for Jehovah descended, and 
was made man, that he might be able to 
approach to man, and man to him, and thus 
conjunction be effected, and by conjunc- 
tion man have salvation and eternal life. 
The reciprocality of conjunction is taught 
by the Lord when speaking of Philip, be- 
lieve me, that I am in the Father and the 
Father in me. John xiv. 10. 



72 

The Lord declares the same of his con- 
junction with man, that it is reciprocal ; 
for he says, Abide in me and I in you, he 
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same 
bringeth forth much fruit. John xv. 4, 5. 
In that da£ ye shall know that I am in the 
Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 
xiv. 20. He that heareth my voice and 
openeth the door, I will come in to him, 
and sup with him, and he with me. Rev. 
iii. 20. From these plain expressions, it 
is evident that the conjunction of the Lord 
and man is reciprocal ; and it follows, of 
course, that man ought to conjoin himself 
with the Lord, in order that the Lord may 
conjoin himself with him, for otherwise 
there can be no conjunction. This recip- 
rocal conjunction of the Lord and man, is 
effected by means of charity and faith, for 
so far as man is in the good of charity, and 
the truths of faith, so far he is in the Lord, 
and the Lord in him. 

The whole man, according to his measure 
and quality, with regard to his mind or his 
essential quality, is in every work which 
proceeds from him. By mind, is meant the 
affection of his love, and the principle of 
thought thence derived, these form his na- 
ture, and in general his life ; works viewed 
in this light, are like so many mirrors re- 
flecting the true and real image of the man. 
The case is similar with brutes ; a wolf 



will be a wolf, a tiger is a tiger, in all his 
actions ; the same is true of a sheep and a 
kid in all their actions ; in like manner, all 
man's works partake of his true nature. — 
The Lord says, A good man, out of the 
good treasure of his heart bringeth forth 
that which is good, and an evil man, out of 
the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth 
forth that which is evil. Luke vi. 45. 

Charity and works are distinct from each 
other, like will and action, and like an af- 
fection of the mind and an operation of the 
bodv ; also like the internal man and the 
external, and these are distinct from each 
other like cause and effect, for causes of all 
things are formed in the internal man, and 
the effects thence resulting are produced 
in and by the external. Hence charity, as 
it has relation to the internal man, consists 
in willing what is good; and good works, 
as they have relation to the external man, 
consist in doing good, from and under the 
influence of a good will. 

The will also seeks out in the under- 
standing, the means and methods of at- 
taining its ends, which are effects ; and thus, 
in the understanding, it betakes itself to 
the light, in order that it may discern, not 
only the reason why, but also the occasions 
when and how it should determine itself to 
actions, and thus produce its effects, which 
are works ; and at the same time, in the uu- 
7 



74 

derstanding, it seeks and finds its power of 
action ; from whence it follows that works, 
in respect to their essense, are of the will; 
in respect to form, are of the understand- 
ing ; and in respect to act, are of the body ; 
and thus charity descends into good works. 
Man himself, is like a tree ; in its seed, there 
lies hid as it were, an end, intention, and 
purpose, of producing fruits; in which re- 
spect the seed corresponds with the will of 
man, which, .as was observed, contains those 
three things The seed, from its interior 
parts, springs forth from the earth, and 
clothes itself with branches, buds, and 
leaves, and thus provides itself with means 
adapted to its ends, which are fruits ; thus 
a tree corresponds with the understanding 
in man, and its fruits correspond to good 
works in man. St. Paul declares that man 
is a temple of God ; in this case, salvation 
and eternal life are the end, intention and 
purpose of man, as a temple of God. The 
doctrines of faith and charity he obtains 
from his parents, his masters, and spiritual 
teachers; and when he comes to riper 
years, he collects them from the Word, and 
other books of instruction ; all these are 
means conducive to the end, and in these 
there is correspondence with the under- 
standing. Lastly ; he is directed, and deter- 
mined to the performance of uses, accord- 
ing to the doctrines he has imbibed as 



75 

means, and this is effected by acts of the 
body, which are called good works, and 
thus the end, by means of causes, produces 
effects, which effects, in regard to their es- 
sense, are of the end ; in regard to their 
form, are of Ihe doctrines of the church ; 
and in regard to act, are of uses. Thus 
man becomes a temple of God. 

The reason why a true faith abideth with 
those who believe the Lord to be the Son 
of God is, because they also believe him to 
be God, and faith is not faith unless it be 
directed toward God ; and according to the 
Lord's words to Peter, the true church is 
built on this faith. When Peter said, Thou 
art the Christ the Son of the living God ; 
Blessed art thou Simon, and I say unto thee, 
upon this rock will I build my church, and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it Matt. xvi. 16, 17, 18. 

By rock is meant divine truth, which is 
the primary or chief of all truths ; the sec- 
ond principle of the true faith is, to be- 
lieve that the Lord is God of heaven and 
earth ; this is proved by his w r ords in Matt, 
xxviii. 18. That he hath all power in 
heaven and in earth. The third mark of 
true faith is, that they believe that the Lord 
is one with the Father, and is the Father 
himself in the humanity. This is proved 
by the Lord's word, that he and the Father 
are one. John x. 30. These three precious 



76 

marks of faith, are a treasure in the hearts, 
and a jewel in the mouths of all those who 
truly believe the Lord to be God of heaven 
and earth. 

THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY. 

From the doctrine of Faith, we next 
proceed to doctrine of Charity, for Faith 
and Charity are conjoined like truth and 
good, or like light and heat in time of 
spring. We use this similitude, because 
spiritual light which is the light that pro- 
ceedeth from the sun of the spiritual world, 
in its essense is truth, and ill consequence 
truth in that world, shines with a splendor 
according to its purity, and spiritual heat, 
which also proceeds from the same sun, in 
its essense is good. Hence it follows, that 
there is a similitude between these two and 
the two properties of the same name in the 
natural world ; that is to say, that as by 
their conjunction the earth puts forth its 
blossoms, so by their conjunctions the hu- 
man mind puts forth its blossoms, but with 
this distinction, that the blossoming of the 
earth is occasioned bv natural heat and 
light, whereas the blossoming of the human 
mind is occasioned by spiritual heat and 
light, and of consequence this latter blos- 
soming, as being of a spiritual nature, con- 
sists of wisdom and intelligence. There is 



77 

also a correspondence between the earth 
and the human mind. Hence the mind, 
wherein faith is conjoined with charity, and 
charity with faith, is in the Word likened 
to a garden, and is also understood and sig- 
nified by the garden of Eden. 

All things in the universe which are in 
divine order, have relation to good and 
truth ; there is nothing in heaven, nor in 
the world, which does not respect these 
two principles. The reason is, because 
both good and truth proceed from God, 
from whom are all things ; hence it appears 
how necessary it is for man to know what 
good and truth are, and how they have a 
mutual regard to each other, and are recip- 
rocally conjoined. Divine order requires 
that good and truth should be conjoined, 
and not be separated, that so they may be 
one, and not two, for they proceed in con- 
junction from God, and they are in conjunc- 
tion in heaven, and therefore they ought to 
be ill conjunction in the church. This con- 
junction is in heaven called the heavenly 
marriage, for all there are the subjects of 
such marriage ; thus the Lord is called a 
bridegroom and husband, while heaven and 
also the church are called the bride and 
wife. Hence it is evident that good loves 
truth, and that truth in return loves good, 
and that they have a mutual desire to be 

conjoined ; that member of the church, 

7 * 



78 

therefore, who has no such love and desire, 
is not a subject of the heavenly marriage, 
for the church is not in him. 

Man is so created, as to be, at one and 
the same time, both in the spiritual world 
and in the natural world ; and being so 
created, he is endowed with an internal 
and an external ; with the good, the inter- 
nal is in heaven and its light, and the ex- 
ternal in the world and its light, which 
latter is with them illuminated by the light 
of heaven, so that the internal and external 
act in unity, like cause and effect ; but with 
the bad the internal is in hell and in its 
light, which light, with respect to that of 
heaven, is thick darkness. The internal 
and external man of which we have been 
speaking, are the internal and external of 
the spirit of man, for the body does noth- 
ing from itself, but from the spirit which is 
within it ; the spirit of man, after its sepa- 
ration from the body, retains the same ca- 
pacity of thinking and willing, of speaking 
and acting, as before ; thought and will 
then, constitute its internal, and speech 
and action its external. 

Man is not born for the sake of himself, 
but for the sake of others, or else no socie- 
ty could be kept together, nor could any 
good exist in it. It is a common saying, 
that every man's nearest neighbor is him- 
self; but the doctrine of charity teaches in 



79 

what sense this saying is to be understood. 
Every one is bound to provide for himself 
the nesessaries of life, food, raiment, a house 
to dwell in, and other things, which the 
wants of civil life, and his particular call- 
ing require ; he is further bound to provide 
such things, not only for himself, but also 
for his family, and not only for the present 
time, but also for the time to come, for 
otherwise being in want of all things, he 
could be in no state or capacity of exer- 
cising charity. But in what sense a man 
ought to regard himself as his nearest 
neighbor, may appear from the following 
similar cases. Every man ought to provide 
convenient food and raiment for his body, 
this must be the first object of his care; 
but the end in view must be, that he may 
be in a state to serve his fellow citizens, 
his country, the church, and thus the Lord. 
Hence it appears, w 7 hat is first in respect 
to time, and what is first in respect to end, 
and that the object which is first in respect 
to end, is that, to which all intermediate 
objects have reference ; this case may be 
compared with that of a man who buildeth 
a house, his first business is to lav the foun- 
dation, but the foundation is laid for the 
sake of the house, and the house is built 
for the sake of a place to dwell in. 

To love our neighbor, is not only to will 
and do good to a relation, a friend, and a 



80 

good man, but also to a stranger, an enemy, 
and a bad man. Charity towards a relation 
and friend, is expressed by direct acts of 
kindness ; but towards an enemy and a 
wicked person, by indirect acts of kind- 
ness, as by exhortation, by correction, and 
by punishment for their amendment. Thus 
a father expresseth his love toward his chil- 
dren by correcting them when they do 
amiss ; and on the other hand, if he do not 
correct them when they need correction, 
he then loves their vices, and such love 
cannot be called charity. 

Charity has its residence in the internal 
man, and when a man possessed of charity 
resists an enemy, and punishes the guilty, 
and chastiseth the evil, he effecteth this by 
means of the external man, and of conse- 
quence, when he hath effected it, he re- 
turneth into the charity which is in the in- 
ternal man, and then, as far as he is able, 
or as far as it is expedient, wisheth well to 
him whom he has punished, and from a 
principle of good will doeth him good.^ — 
Charity, where it is genuine, is always at- 
tended with zeal for what is good, which 
zeal in the external man may look like an- 
ger and flaming fire, yet on the repentance 
of its adversary, it is instantly extinguished 
and appeased. 

As man is born to eternal life, and is in- 
troduced into it by the church, therefore 



81 

the church ought to be loved by him as his 
neighbor in a higher degree, for she teaches 
the means that lead to eternal life, and in- 
troduces him into it, leading him to it by 
the truths of doctrine, and introducing him 
into it by the goods of life. We do not 
mean that the priesthood should be loved 
in a superior degree, but that the good and 
truth of the church should be loved, and 
the priesthood on their account, since the 
priesthood is designed only to act as a ser- 
vant to such good and truth, and should be 
respected in proportion to the service which 
it yields. There is also a further reason 
why the church is our neighbor and enti- 
tled to a superior degree of love, and con- 
sequently to be ranked above our country, 
and this is, because man, by his country is 
initiated into civil, but by the church into 
spiritual life, which latter distinguishes man 
from a mere animal ; besides, civil life is 
but temporal, and it comes to its end, and 
is as if it had never been, whereas spiritual 
life, having no end, is eternal, and may 
therefore be said to have a real essense or 
being. 

They who love the kingdom of the Lord, 
love the Lord above all things, and are thus 
influenced more than others by love to God, 
for the church in heaven and throughout 
the earth, is the Lord's body, the members 
thereof being in the Lord and the Lord in 



82 

them. Love, therefore, towards the king- 
dom of the Lord, is love towards our neigh- 
bor, in all its fulness. Love to the Lord, 
is a universal love, and is consequently in 
all and every thing that belongs to spiritual 
life, as well as in all and every thing that 
belongs to natural life, for love has its resi- 
dence in the highest principles, and the 
highest descends by influx into the lower, 
communicating life to them, just as the will 
entereth into the whole of the intention 
and thence descends into action, and as the 
understanding enters into the whole of the 
thought, and thence into the speech ; — 
wherefore the Lord saith, Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and 
all things shall be added unto you. Matt, 
vi. 83. That the kingdom of God, and of 
the heavens, is the Lord's kingdom, is plain 
from this passage in Daniel, And behold, 
one like the Son of Man came with the 
clouds of heaven, and there was given him 
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that 
all peoples, nations, and languages should 
serve him: his dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, which shall not pass away, and 
his kingdom that which shall not be de- 
stroyed. Chap, til, 13, 14. 

The reason why good is our neighbor is, 
because good belongs to the will, and the 
will is the essense of the life of man ; truth 
In the understanding is also our neighbor, 



83 

but only so far as it proceeds from good in 
the will, for good in the will forms itself 
in the understanding, and there renders 
itself visible in the light of reason, to love 
what is good in another from a principle of 
goodness in ourselves, is genuine love to- 
wards our neighbor, for in this case, our 
own and our neighbor's goodness mutually 
kiss, and conjoin themselves together. 

This tenet, that it is the first part of 
charity to do no evil to our neighbor, and 
the second to do him good, occupies the 
first place in the doctrine of charity, for it 
is as a door to it ; to will evil and to do 
good, are in their nature opposite to each 
other, for evil is grounded in hatred toward 
our neighbor, and good in love toward him; 
or, in other words, evil is our neighbor's 
enemy, and good his friend, which two can- 
not possibly exist together in one and the 
same mind, that is, evil in the internal man, 
and good in the external. That a man can- 
not do good which is truly so, before evil 
is put away, for the Lord says, Do men 
gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 
A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good 
fruit. Matt. vii. 16, 17. Wo unto you 
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye 
make clean the outside of the cup and tFie 
platter, but within* they are full of extor- 
tion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, 
cleanse first that which is within the cup 



84 

and platter, that the outside of them may 
be clean also. Matt, xxiii. 25, 26. 

Man ought to purify himself from evils, 
and not wait for the Lord to purify him by 
an immediate act of his power, for in this 
case he would be like a servant, with his 
face and clothes all bedaubed with soot and 
dirt, who would go to his master, and say, 
master, wash me. Would not his master in 
such a case, naturally say to him, thou 
foolish servant, what is it thou say est: lo, 
there is water, soap, and a towel, and hast 
thou not hands of thy own, and strength to 
use them? Go and wash, thyself. Thus too 
will the Lord God say unto his servant, 
The means of purification are provided by 
me, use then these, my gifts and talents, as 
thy own, and thou shalt be purified. 

It is the first part of charity to put away 
evil, and the second to do good ; for it is a 
universal law, that so far as a person wills 
no evil, he willeth good; consequently, so 
far as he turneth himself away from hell, 
whence all evil ascendeth, he turneth him- 
self towards heaven, whence all good de- 
scended, and therefore, so far as any one 
rejects the devil, he is accepted by the 
Lord, but no man can serve two masters. 

No man Is able, of his own power and 
his own strength to purify himself from 
evils, and yet such cannot be effected with- 
out the power and strength of man as his 



85 

own, for without this, no one would be 
able to fight against the flesh and its lusts, 
which nevertheless is required of all. By 
man's being created an image of God, is 
meant his reception of life, that is, of love 
and wisdom, from God ; and by his being 
created a likeness of God is meant his pos- 
sessing andexercising such life, as his own, 
but yet in dependence on the Divine 
Giver; thus it is plain, that man, being 
endowed with reason, and thereby exalted 
above the beasts, ought to resist evils by 
virtue of the power and strength given 
him of the Lord, which in every respect 
of feeling and of sense appear to him as 
his^wn, and this appearance is communica- 
ted to every man by the Lord, for the sake 
of regeneration, conjunction, and salvation. 
But for men to think that they shall go 
to heaven, and for this purpose they must 
do good, this is not to regard recompense 
as an end, and to ascribe merit to works; 
for such persons are not influenced by a 
confidence in the reward to which merit 
entitles them, but by a belief in the promise 
made of grace. To these the delight of 
doing good to their neighbour is a reward, 
which is eternal and infinitely superior to 
every natural delight. They who are in the 
enjoyment of this delight, are unwilling to 
hear of merit, for they love to do good, 
and in this perceive true blessedness, and 
8 



86 

it grieves them to have it supposed that 
they do good for the sake of recompense. 
They are like such as do good to their 
friends for the sake of friendship, to a 
brother because he is a brother, to a wife 
and children, because they are wife and 
children, to their country, because it is 
their country, and thus whose actions are 
dictated by friendship and love. 

But the case is very different with those 
who in their works consider recompense 
as the onty end worth regard ; such persons 
are like those who make professions of 
friendship for the sake of gain and interest ; 
thence may appear the true ground and 
nature of the conjunction of love to God 
and love towards our neighbour ; it is an 
effect of the influx of the love of God 
towards mankind, the reception of which 
by man, and his co-operation, is love towards 
our neighbour, for the Lord says, In that 
day ye shall know that I am in my Father, 
and ye in me, and I in you. John xiv. 20. 



ON FREE WILL. 

Every man is endowed with freedom of 
will in spiritual things; were it not so, of 
what use would be the preaching of minis- 
ters, instructing us that we must believe in 
God, be converted, and live a life according 



87 

to the commandments in the Word, that 
we must fight against the lusts of the flesh, 
and prepare ourselves to become new crea- 
tures, with much more to the same purpose. 
Every person of sound reason must con- 
clude, that all such injunctions are mere 
empty sounds unless man has free-will in 
what ever concerns his salvation, and to 
deny such freedom, is contrary to common 
sense. 

How plain is it for any one to see, if he 
can but think from reason elevated above 
the sensualities of the body, that life is not 
creatable. For what is life, but the inmost 
activity of love and wisdom, which are in 
God, and which are God? He whose eyes 
are open to see thus far, may also see 
farther, that this life cannot possibly be 
transcribed into any man, unless love and 
wisdom be transcribed into him with it, 
and who can deny that all the good of love 
and all the truth of wisdom are from God 
alone, and that as man receiveth them from 
God, in the same proportion he has life 
from God, and is said to be born of God, 
that is to be regenerated; but in proportion 
as a man doth not receive charity and faith 
from God, he doth not receive life, which 
in itself is life from God, but from hell, 
which life is inverted life, and called in 
the Holy Scriptures, spiritual death. From 
what has been said we may perceive that the 



88 

following things are not creatable 1, what 
is infinite; 2, love and wisdom; 3, life; 
4, light and heat ; 5, activity, considered in 
itself; but that the organs receptive of the 
above, are creatable, and are created ; light 
is not created, but its recipient organ, the 
eye, is created ; sound is not created, but its 
recipient organ the ear, is. It is a law of 
creation, that wherever there are things 
active, there are also things passive, and that 
these two should join themselves together 
into one, if the active were creatable, as the 
passive are, there would have been no need 
of the sun, or of the heat and light thence 
proceeding, but all created things might 
have subsisted without them; whereas the 
fact is, that were the sun with its heat and light 
to be removed, the whole universe of crea- 
tion would become a chaos ; the same 
would be the case with man, supposing 
that spiritual light and heat, which in their 
essense are love and wisdom, were not to 
enter into him by influx, and be received 
by him ; for the whole man is nothing but 
an organized form adapted to the reception 
of heat and light, both from the natural 
world and the spiritual. To deny that man 
is a form receptive of love and wisdom 
from God, would be to deny the doctrine 
of influx, and consequently that all good is 
from God ; in which case conjunction with 
God must also be denied, so that it would 



89 

be absurd to talk of man's being the habi- 
tation and temple of God. 

That man would have no free-will in 
civil, moral, and natural concerns, unless 
he had free-will in spiritual, is evident from 
this circumstance, that spiritual things 
w r hich are called theological, have their 
residence in the highest region of the 
human mind, like a sole in its body. The 
reason why they reside in that region, is 
because there is the door, by which the 
Lord enters into man, below them reside 
whatever relates to civil, moral, and natural 
concerns, which receive all their life from 
the spiritual things that reside above them, 
and since life is derived by influx from the 
Lord, entering in at the supreme parts of 
the soul, and the life of man consists in a 
power to think and will, and thence to 
speak and act, in freedom ; it follows of 
course that his free-will in political and 
natural matters must be derived from this 
origin, and from no other. By virtue of 
this spiritual freedom, he is gifted with a 
perception of what is good and true, and 
of what is just and right in civil matters, 
which perception constitutes the very 
essence of the understanding. 

It is generally acknowledged throughout 

the Christian world that the Word, is in an 

extensive sense, the law, or a book of laws 

for the regulation of man's life, that he 

8* 



90 

may attain eternal life, and what is more 
frequently insisted on therein, than that 
he should do good, and not evil, and that 
he should believe in God, and not in idols. 
Moreover, the Word abounds with injunc- 
tions and exhortations to obedience, and 
with blessings and promises of rewards for 
those who practise its precepts, and with 
curses and threatenings against those who do 
not practise them. But what purpose would 
all this be, unless man had free-wiii in 
spiritual things. Supposing man to enter- 
tain this idea, that he has no power, to 
understand, to will, or to do any thing in 
relation to spiritual things, he would nat- 
urally ask what then is religion, which 
consists in doing good, but an empty sound, 
and what is the Church without religion, 
Nand what then are heaven and hell, but 
fabulous devices invented by priests, to 
catch the ears of the vulgar, and thereby 
raise themselves to honour and profit? 
Hence the question, who can do good of 
himself, or who acquire faith of himself? 
the consequence of which, is" that they 
become regardless of both, and live like 
pagans. But do you, my friend, flee from 
evil, and do good and believe in the Lord 
with your whole heart, and your whole 
soul, and then the Lord will love you, and 
will give you love as a principle of action, 
and faith as a principle of belief, and then 



91 

you will do good from love, and will believe 
from faith amounting to trust and confi- 
dence, and if you persevere in this course, 
reciprocal conjunction will be effected be- 
tween you and the Lord, and this is the 
essence of salvation and of eternal life. 

Predestination is a birth conceived and 
brought forth by the faith of the present 
Chuiv.h, because it springs from the belief 
of man's absolute impotence, and total 
want of free-will, in spiritual things; to 
which may be. added as a further cause of 
its production, the supposition that on man's 
part the convertion to God is inanimate, in 
which he is acted upon like a stock or a 
stone. 

It is a primary law of order, that man 
should be an^ image of God, consequently 
that he should be perfected in love and 
wisdom, and thus become more and more 
such an image ; but without free-will in 
spiritual things, by which he has the power 
to turn himself to God and enter into 
mutual conjunction with him, such opera- 
tion would be to no purpose, for order is 
that from which and according to which 
the whole world and all things were created. 
God cannot act contrary to order, because 
that would be to act contrary to himself; 
of course he leads every man according to 
order. Supposing it possible for man to have 
been created without free-will in spiritual 



92 

things, what could have been more easy to an 
omnipotent God, than to cause all mankind 
to believe in the Lord? Would it not have 
been in his power to have conferred this 
faith on everj r man, immediately by his 
absolute power, and by making that op- 
eration of it which is continually at work 
to effect man's salvation irresistible? But to 
this reasoning we reply in tbe words of 
Abraham, If they hear not Moses and the 
prophets, neither would they be persuaded 
though one rose from the dead, Luke 
xvi. 31. 

OF REPENTANCE. 

After treating on Faith, Charity, and 
Free-will, Repentance comes next in order 
for consideration, since true faith and gen- 
uine charity are not attainable without re- 
pentance, and none can do the work of 
repentance without free-will. There are 
several things which prepare man for the 
church, and introduce him into it, but acts 
of repentance alone effect a formation of 
the church in him ; acts of repentance are 
such as make a man cease to will, and in 
consequence cease to practise evils, which 
are sins against God ; for repentance to be 
efficacious must effect the will, and thence 
the thought, consequently it must be actual 
and not merely of the lips. That repent- 



93 

ance is the first constituent of the church, 
appears evidently from the Word, for John 
the Baptist, who was sent before to prepare 
men for that church which the Lord was 
about to establish ; while he baptized, 
preached at the same time repentance, be- 
cause by baptism was signified spiritual 
washing, which is cleansing from sins ; this 
he did in Jordan, because Jordan signified 
introduction into the church, being the first 
boundary of the land of Canaan, where 
the church was established. The Lord 
himself also preached repentance for the 
remission of sins, thus teaching that repent- 
ance is the first constituent of the church, 
and that as a man practises it, his sins are 
removed. 

That man cannot possibly have the 
church in him until his sins be removed ; 
for who can introduce sheep and lambs into 
his fields, until he has driven out the wild 
beasts? Who can form a garden on a piece 
of ground which is overrun with thorns and 
briars, before he has rooted out those nox- 
ious plants? The case is similar with re- 
spect to the evils in man, which are like so 
many wild beasts, with which the church 
could no more dwell together, than a man 
could dwell in a den with tigers and leop- 
ards. That actual repentance is absolutely 
necessary, and that man's salvation depends 
on it, is plain from many passages in the 



94 

Word, such as the following: Jesus began 
to preach and say, Repent ye, for the king- 
dom of heaven is at hand. Again, Except 
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. — 
Again, Repent ye, and be converted, that 
your sins may be blotted out. There is 
joy in heaven over one sinner that repent- 
eth ; and in a great variety of passages the 
doctrine of repentance is taught as abso- 
lutely necessary to salvation. Should it 
be asked how repentance is to be perform- 
ed, I answer, Actually by man's examin- 
ing himself, knowing and acknowledging 
his sins, making supplication to the Lord, 
and beginning a new life. There can be 
no repentance without self-examination ; 
But to what purpose is self-examination 
except that a man may know his sins? 
And to what purpose is such knoweldge, 
but that he may acknowledge them to be 
in him'? And to what purpose are these 
three duties, but that he may confess his 
sins before the Lord, and pray for divine 
assistance, and thus begin a new life, which 
is the end to which every previous step has 
been directed. This is actual repentance. 
That this is the method by which it is to 
be performed, may appear plain, from the 
decalogue, where, in six of the command- 
ments it is only enjoined that man should 
not commit evil, and the reason is, because 
unless he remove evils by repentance, he 



95 

cannot possibly begin to love his neighbor, 
and much less God ; when nevertheless on 
these two duties hang all the law and the 
prophets, that is the whole Word, and con- 
sequently salvation. Actual repentance, 
if it be repeated at stated times, will ena- 
ble a man to abstain from one or more sins 
as often as he may discover sin in himself, 
and in this way he may initiate himself into 
the actual practice of it, and when in that 
state, he is then in the way to heaven, for 
he then begins from natural to become 
spiritual, and to be born anew of the Lord. 
The reason why true repentance con- 
sists in a man's examining not only the ac- 
tions of his life, but also the intentions of 
his will, is, because understanding and will 
produce those actions, for man speaks from 
thought, and acts from will ; so that speech 
is thought-speaking, and action is will act- 
ing ; and because this is the source of 
speech and action, it follows, that those two 
principles are in fault when the body of- 
fends. It is possible, also, for a man to re- 
pent of the evils which he has committed 
in the body, and still to think and will evil ; 
but this is like cutting down the trunk of 
a bad tree, and leaving its roots in the 
ground, from which the same bad tree grows 
and spreads itself in all directions. Far 
different is the case when the root also is 
plucked up. And this is effected in man 



96 

when he examines not only the actions of 
his life, but likewise the intentions of his 
will, and at the same time removes those 
evils by repentance. Man examines the 
intentions of his will at the same time he 
examines his thoughts, for the intentions 
manifest themselves in the thoughts ; thus, 
while his thoughts are busied about re- 
venge, adultery, theft, false witness, blas- 
phemy against God, the holy Word, the 
church, &c, he also wills and intends such 
evils ; but should he turn his attention to- 
wards his thoughts, and ponder in his mind 
whether he would commit the evils he 
finds there, supposing no fear of the law, 
or the loss of reputation, and then should 
he determine not to cherish them in thought 
or will, because they are sins, such a per- 
son performs true and interior repentance ; 
whoso practises such repentance repeated- 
ly for an} r length of time, will perceive the 
delights of evil, when they return, as un- 
delightful,and will at length condemn them. 
This is what the Lord meant when he said, 
Whosoever will find his life shall lose it ; 
and whosoever will lose his life for my 
sake, shall find it. The reason why we 
should give up our lives for the sake of 
Christ is, because he is God of heaven and 
earth, the Redeemer and Saviour, to whom 
belong omnipotence, omniscience, omni- 
presence, mercy itself, and at the same 



97 

time righteousness ; also, because man is 
his creature, and the church his sheepfold. 
He is the true Shepherd and the sheep 
should look to no other ; that he alone 
ought to be approached and worshipped, is 
insisted on in these words in John, Verity, 
verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not 
by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth 
up some other way, the same is a thief and 
a robber ; but he that entereth in by the 
door, is the Shepherd of the sheep. I am 
the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall 
be saved, and shall go in and out and find 
pasture. The thief cometh not but for to 
steal, to kill, and to destroy : I am come that 
they might have life, and that they might 
have it more abundantly ; I am the good 
Shepherd. Chap. x. 1, 2, 9, 10, 11. Man is 
forbid to climb up some other way, to pre- 
vent his immediate approach to God the 
Father, who is invisible, and consequently 
inaccessible, and incapable of conjunction, 
solely for this end, that man might be saved, 
for unless God be approached in thought as 
man, all idea of God is lost, and becomes 
like bodily vision when directed towards 
the wide universe, so that it either fixes 
itself on empty nothing, or on nature ; but 
if we approach the Lord God the Saviour, 
we approach the Father at the same time. 
Hence the Lord's words to Philip, He that 
seeth me seeth the Father. 
9 



98 
OP REFORMATION AND REGENERATION, 

After treating of repentance, it comes 
next in order to treat of reformation and 
regeneration, because these follow repent- 
ance and are promoted by it. There are 
two states into which man must enter, and 
through which he must pass, that he may 
from natural become spirituals The first 
state is called reformation, and the other 
regeneration. In the first he looks from his 
natural state toward the spiritual, with a 
great desire to attain it; in the other state 
he becomes a spiritual-natural man. The 
first state is formed by the truths which 
belong to faith, by which he looks towards 
Charity ; the other state is formed by the 
goods of Charity, from which he entereth 
into the truths of faith, or what is the same 
thing, the first is a state of thought from 
the understanding, but the other is a state 
of love from the will. As this latter state 
commences, and advances, a change takes 
place in the mind, for then the love of the 
will enters by influx into the understand- 
ing, acting upon, and leading it to think in 
concord and agreement with its love ; so 
that in proportion as the good of love fills 
the first station, and the truths of faith the 
second; the man is spiritual, and is a new 
creature. He then acts from charity, and 
speaks from faith; he sensibly feels the 



99 

good of charity, and perceives the truth of 
faith ; he is then in the Lord, he is in peace, 
and thus regenerate. 

That a man cannot enter the kingdom of 
God except he be born again, is the Lord's 
doctrine. Verily I say unto thee, except a 
man be born again, he cannot see the king- 
dom of God. Again, Verily I say unto 
thee, except a man be born of water and 
the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
of God, that which is born of the flesh is 
flesh, and that which is born of the spirit 
is spirit. By the kingdom of God, both 
heaven and the church are meant. 

For the kingdom of God on earth is the 
church; to be born of water and of the 
spirit, signifies, by the truths of faith and a 
life in conformity to them. 

That man ought to be regenerated, is 
obvious also to reason, since he is born 
with a propensity to evils of every kind, 
derived from his parents, and these have 
their abode in his natural man ; which of 
itself is opposed to the spiritual man, and 
yet he is born to be an inhabitant of heaven, 
to which state he cannot be admitted unless 
he be rendered spiritual, which cannot 
be effected but by regeneration. Hence it 
necessarily follows, that the natural man 
with its lusts ought to be conquered, sub- 
dued, and inverted, for otherwise he cannot 
come into a state of peace and rest. The 



100 

natural man, considered in himself, as to 
his nature, differs not from the beasts. The 
quality of the unregenerated man, is thus 
described by the prophet Isaiah: The 
cormorant and the bittern shall possess it, 
the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it, 
he shall stretch out upon it the line of 
emptiness and the plummet of desolation, 
and the thorn shall come up upon its altars, 
the thistle and bramble in its fortresses, 
and it shall be a habitation for dragons, and 
a court for the daughters of the owl. There 
shall the great owl make her nest, and lay 
and gather, and hatch under her shadow ; 
there shall the kites also be gathered, every 
one with her mate. Chap, xxxiv. 11—15. 

Regeneration is effected by the Lord 
alone, through charity and faith ; for the 
Lord, charity, and faith, make one, like life, 
will, and understanding, and if they were 
divided each would perish. 

Charity and faith, are called means or 
mediates, because they conjoin man with 
the Lord, and cause charity to be charity, 
and faith faith, which could not be the case, 
except man also had some share in regen- 
eration. Hence it is said that this work is 
effected during man's co-operation with 
the Lord. But since the human mind is 
such, as to be led entirely by its percep- 
tions to imagine that it works and effects 
all merely by its own power and strength, 



101 

therefore this subject shall be further illus- 
trated. 

In all motion, and consequently in all 
action, there is an active and a passive ; 
that is, a something which acts as an agent, 
and a something which, being passive, acts 
from the agent. Hence one action is effect- 
ed by both, comparatively as a chariot is 
put in motion by a horse, or as a mill is 
put in action by a wheel, or a dead power 
put in activity by a living power, or as the 
instrumental is acted upon by the principle; 
in which instances it is well known, that 
the two together constitute but one action. 
With respect to charity and faith, the Lord 
is the agent, and man anteth from the Lord ; 
for the active power or energy of the Lord 
is in the passive ground of man, where the 
power of acting well is from the Lord ; 
and thence the will to act is as it were 
man's,because he is in possession of free-will, 
so that he has the power to act in unity 
with the Lord, and conjoin himself with 
him, or to act from the power of evil, 
which is extraneous to that of the Lord, 
and thus to separate himself from him. 

That man cannot be regenerated but by 
successive degrees, is a truth which may 
be illustrated in the case of all things, in 
the natural world. A tree does not arrive 
at the maturity of its state in a single day, 
neither does a crop of wheat become fit 

r 9* 



102 

for the sickle in one day, nor is a house built 
in one day, nor does man attain to his full 
bodily stature in one day, much less to the 
stature of wisdom ; so neither is the church 
established and perfected in one day, nor 
is it possible for any progression to arrive 
at its end, unless there be a beginning to 
set out from. They who form any other 
notion of regeneration than this, are entire- 
ly ignorant of the nature of charity and 
faith, and the growth of each according to 
man's co-operation with the Lord. The 
evils in which man is born are ingenerate 
in the will of the natural man, and the will 
inclines the understanding to favor its 
desires, by thinking in agreement. Hence 
to effect the regeneration of man, it is 
necessary that it be done by the under- 
standing, as by a mediate cause, and this is 
accomplished by the information which the 
understanding receives, first from the 
parents and masters, and afterwards from 
reading the Word, from sermons, from 
books, and conversation. The subjects 
which the understanding thus receives are 
called truths, so that it is the same thing 
whether we speak of reformation being 
effected by the understanding, or by the 
truths which the understanding receives, 
for truths instruct man in whom, and what 
he is to believe, and also what he ought to 
do ; consequently what he ought to will ; 



103 

for whatsoever a man does is done from 
the will according to the understanding. 
Since then the very will of man is by birth 
evil, and since the understanding teacheth 
what is evil and what is good, and man has 
the power to will, or not to will the one, 
or the other, it follows of consequence, 
that he must be reformed by means of the 
understanding. So long however as he 
sees and acknowledges in his mind that 
evil is evil, and good is good, and thinks 
that good ought to be chosen, so long that 
state is called reformation, but when he ac- 
tually wills to flee from evil and do good, 
then commences the state of regeneration. 
In every created thing, there is an inter- 
nal and an external, the one never exists 
without the other, as no effect can exist 
without a cause ; every created thing is 
esteemed in proportion to its internal good- 
ness, and is held of little value in propor- 
tion to its internal vileness. Everyman 
will form his judgment according to this 
rule. The unregenerate man who assumes 
the appearance of a moral member of 
society, and a good Christian, may be com- 
pared with a mummy laid up in a coffin ; 
on looking into which, the eyes are shocked 
at the sight of a black corpse. But it is 
otherwise with the regenerate man ; his 
internal is good, and his external is like to 
that of any other person, and yet in reality 



104 

it differs from that of the unregenerate man, 
as heaven does from hell, for a soul of good 
is contained within it. Hence it is evident, 
that the external derives its value from the 
internal, and not the contrary ; and when a 
man comes into this state, there arises a com- 
bat between the internal and external man. 
The reason why a combat arises at that 
time is, because the internal man is reform- 
ed by means of truths ; and from these he 
sees what is evil and false which still abide 
in the external or natural man. Hence 
there now arises, for the first time, a disa- 
greement between the new will which is 
above, and the old will which is beneath ; 
and this disagreement between the two 
wills is attended with a disagreement also 
between the respective delights of each ; 
for it is an acknowledged truth, that the 
flesh is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit 
to the flesh, and that the flesh with its lusts 
must be subdued, before the spirit can 
act, and the man become new. After this 
disagreement of the two wills, a combat 
arises, and this temptation or combat is 
between the truths of good and the falses 
of evil, for good of itself cannot fight, but 
it fights by truths, neither can evil fight of 
itself but by its falses, as the will cannot 
fight of itself, but by the understanding in 
which its truths reside. Hence man ought 
to fight altogether as of himself, since he 



105 

enjoys freedom of will to act either in favor 
of good, or in favor of evil, he acts in 
favor of the Lord, if he abide in truths 
from good, and in favor of the devil if he 
abide in falses from evil. Hence it follows, 
that whichsoever obtains the victory, wheth- 
er it be the internal man, or the external, 
hath dominion over the other. 

That the regenerate man is renewed, or 
made new, is a doctrine confirmed both by 
the Word of God, and also by reason. 
Thus it is written : Make ye a new heart, 
and a new spirit, why will ye die, O house 
of Israel. Ezekiel, xviii. 31. Henceforth 
know we no man after the flesh ; therefore, 
if any man be in Christ he is a new crea- 
ture. 2, Cor. v. 16. By a new heart in 
these passages a new will is meant; and 
by a new spirit a new understanding, for 
heart, in the Word, signifies the will, and 
spirit, when it is joined with the heart, 
the understanding. It is plain also from 
reason, that the regenerate man hath a 
new will and a new understanding, for 
these two faculties constitute man, and 
these are the faculties that are regenerated; 
wherefore every man's true quality is de- 
termined by these faculties ; he is a bad 
man if his will be bad, and much more so 
if his understanding favors the badness of 
his will. On the contrary, he is a good 
man if his will be good, and much more so 



106 

if his understanding favors the goodness of 
his will ; it is religion alone that renews 
and regenerates him, for this occupies the 
supreme seat in the human mind, having 
under its observation those civil duties 
which belong to the world, through which 
also it ascends, like the pure juice in a tree, 
even to its top, and from that elevated sta- 
tion behold all natural concerns, as a person 
standing on a high tower, or mountain, 
looks around upon the plains beneath. 

Man by birth is inclined to all kinds of 
evil, and in consequence of such inclination 
lusts after them, and so far as he is left at 
liberty actually commits them; for by birth 
he lusts for dominion over others, and to 
possess the property of others, which 
two lusts destroy every principle of good 
towards the neighbor, so that he hates 
every one that opposeth him, and by reason 
of such hatred breathes a revengeful spirit, 
in which murder lies concealed, and is 
cherished. Hence too it is, that he makes 
light of adultery, and of fraud, which is a 
clandestine species of theft, and of revil- 
ing others, which also is false witness, and 
whosoever makes light of such crimes is in 
his heart an atheist ; such is man by birth, 
whence it is evident, that by birth he is a 
hell in miniature. Now since man, differ- 
ing from the brute creation, is born, as to 
the interiors of his mind, a spiritual being, 



107 

and of consequence is born for heaven, and 
yet his natural or external man is, as just 
observed, a hell in miniature, it follows of 
course, that heaven cannot be implanted 
where hell is, until this be first removed. 
The regeneration of man is effected by 
means of these three efficients, the Lord, 
faith, and charity ; these three efficients 
would lie concealed like jewels of the 
highest price in the bowels of the earth, 
unless they were opened to view by means 
of divine truths collected out of the Word. 
Nay they would lie concealed from the 
sight of those who den}' co-operation, even 
supposing them to read the Word a thous- 
sand times over. 

As to what respects the Lord, what 
person confirmed in the faith of the present 
day can see with clearness the truths de- 
clared in the Word, that he and the Father 
are one, that he is the God of heaven and 
earth, and that it is the will of the Father 
that all should believe on the Son. The 
reason is, because such persons are not in 
truths, and consequently not in the light, 
by which subjects of such a nature can be 
seen. This may serve to show, that without 
truths this primary efficient of regenera- 
tion cannot be seen ; and as to what respects 
faith, it is alike impossible for it to exist, 
without truths, for faith and truth make 
one thing, the good of faith being as a soul 



108 

whose body is formed of truths, so that for 
a man to say that he believes or has faith, 
and at the same time not to know any of its 
truths, is like extracting the soul from the 
body, and conversing with it in its invisible 
state. Besides, all truths which form the 
body of faith, emit light from them, by 
which they illustrate and render its face 
visible. The case is the same with charity ; 
this emitteth from itself heat with which 
the light of truth enters into conjunction, 
as the heat of the sun is conjoined with its 
light in the time of spring, by which terres- 
trial animals and vegetables are restored to 
their states of prolification ; even so it is 
with spiritual heat and light, they in like 
manner conjoin themselves in man, while 
he is principled in the truths of faith and 
at the same time the goods of charity. 

From what has been said, it may be 
concluded, that without truths there can 
be no knowledge of the Lord, no faith, 
and thus no charity of course. Without 
truths, there can be no theology, and where 
there is no theology, there can be no church. 

THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD IN MAN. 

The following questions were discussed 
by a company of those who love wisdom. 
The first question was, what is the image 
and likeness of God, into which man was 



109 

created. And after some discussion, they 
agreed in the following, and said, an image 
of God is a recipient of God ; and whereas 
God is love itself, and wisdom itself, an 
image of God is a recipient of love and 
wisdom from God in it. But a likeness 
of God is a perfect likeness and full appear- 
ance as if love and wisdom were in man, 
and thence altogether as his ; for man has 
no other sensation than that he loves from 
himself, and is wise from himself, or that he 
wills good and understands truth from him- 
self, when nothing of all this is from himself, 
but from God. God alone loves from him- 
self, and is wise from himself; because God 
alone is love itself and wisdom itself. The 
likeness or appearance that love and wis- 
dom, or good and truth, are in man as his, 
causes man to be man, and makes him 
capable of being conjoined to God, and 
thereby of living to eternity ; from which 
consideration it follows, that man is man 
by virtue of this circumstance ; that he can 
will good and understand truth altogether 
as from himself, and yet know and believe 
that it is from God. Man cannot receive 
any thing of love and wisdom, and retain 
it, and reproduce it, unless he feels it as his 
own ; and how can conjunction be given 
with God by love and wisdom, unless there 
be given to man some reciprocal principle 
of conjunction, for without such a recipro- 
10 



110 

cal principle no conjunction can possibly 
be wrought, and the reciprocal principle of 
conjunction is, that man should love God, 
and relish the things which are of God, 
as from himself and yet believe that it is 
from God. Also, how can a man live eter- 
nally, unless he be conjoined to an eternal, 
God ; consequently how can man be a man 
without such a likeness of God in him. 

The second question, why man is not 
born into the science of any love, and yet 
beasts are born into the sciences of all their 
loves. Those of the company who first 
declared their sentiments, said, that man is 
born without sciences, to the end that he 
may receive them all ; whereas supposing 
him to be born into sciences, he could not 
receive any except those into which he was 
born ; in this case neither could he appro- 
priate any to himself, which they illustrat- 
ed by this comparison : Man at his first 
birth is as ground in which no seeds are 
implanted, but which nevertheless is capa- 
ble of receiving all seeds, and bringing 
them forth and fructifying them, whereas 
a beast is as ground already sown, and filled 
with grasses and herbs, which receive no 
other seeds, than what are sworn in it; 
hence it is that man requires many years 
to bring him to maturity. There were 
others who said that man is not born into 
science as a beast, but that he is born with 



Ill 

a faculty to know, and inclination to love, 
not only the things relating to self and the 
world, but also the things relating to God 
and heaven ; consequently, man by birth 
from his parents, is an organ, which lives 
merely by the external senses, to the end 
that he may successively become a man ; 
first natural, afterwards rational, and lastly 
spiritual. The last of those who declared 
their sentiments said, we are agreed with 
our brethren in the opinions which they 
have delivered, that man knoweth nothing 
from himself, but from others and by others, 
to the end that he may know and acknowl- 
edge that the all of science, understanding, 
and wisdom is from God, and that man 
cannot otherwise be conceived, born, and 
generated of the Lord, and become an 
image and likeness of him, for he becomes 
an image of the Lord by acknowledging 
and believing, that he hath received and 
doth receive from the Lord all the good of 
love and charity, and all the truth of wisdom 
and faith, and not the least portion thereof 
from himself; and he becomes a likeness 
of the Lord, by his being sensible of those 
principles in himself, as if they were from 
himself; this he is sensible of, because he 
is not born into sciences, but receives them, 
and what he receives appears to him as if it 
was from himself; this sensation is given to 
man by the Lord, to the end that he may be 



112 

a man and not a beast. To this the company 
all agreed, and came to this conclution, that 
man is born into no science, to the end that 
he may come into all, and advance into intel- 
ligence, and thereby to wisdom ; and that 
he is born into no love ; to the intent that 
he may come in all love, by applications of 
the sciences from intelligence, and into 
love to the Lord by love towards his nigh- 
bor, and thereby be conjoined to the Lord, 
and by such conjunction be made man, and 
live forever. 

The third question for discussion was, 
What is signified by the tree of life, what 
by the tree of the knowledge of good and 
evil, and what by eating thereof? Those 
who spoke on this question said, that tree 
signifies man, and the firuit thereof the good 
of life ; hence by the tree of life is signified 
man living from God, or God living in man, 
and whereas love and wisdom, and charity 
and faith, or good and truth, constitute the 
life of God in man, therefore by the tree of 
life these are signified, and hence man has 
eternal life. By the tree of the knowledge 
of good and evil, is signified man believing 
that he lives from himself and not from 
God, thus that love and wisdom, charity 
and faith, that is, good and truth, are in 
man, his and not God's ; and as man from this 
persuades himself, that God has implanted 
himself, or infused his divine principle into 



113 

him. Therefore the serpent said, God 
doth know that in the day ye eat the fruit 
of that tree, your eyes shall be opened and 
ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. 
Gen. iii. 5. By eating of those trees is 
signified reception and approbation of good 
or evil ; by the serpent is meant the evil 
of self-love, and all men who are in the 
pride of their own understandings from the 
influence of that love, are such trees. It 
is a dreadful error therefore to suppose, 
that Adam enjoyed wisdom and did good of 
himself, and that this was his state of in- 
tegrity, seeing that Adam, on eatiug of the 
tree of knowledge of good and evil, in- 
stantly fell from his state of integrity, 
w T hich state consisted in the belief that his 
wisdom and power to do good were from 
God ; for this is signified by eating of the 
tree of life. The Lord alone, when he 
was in the world, had wisdom, and the 
power to do good, from himself; inasmuch 
as the Divine itself was in him, and was 
his from nativity. From all these argu- 
ments they came to this final conclusion. 
By the tree of life, and by the tree of the 
knowledge of good and evil, and by eating 
of them, is meant, that man's true life is 
God in him ; in which case he is in posses- 
sion of heaven and eternal life ; and that 
man's true death is the persuation and 
belief, that his life is from himself and not 
10* 



114 

from God, for that from thence is hell, and 
eternal death. On comparing the result of 
the three questions, they perceived that 
the three were connected in one series, 
and the result was this: Man was created 
to receive love and wisdom from God, and 
yet in all likeness as from himself, which 
was for the sake of reception and conjunc- 
tion ; and on this account man is not born 
into any love, nor into any science, nor even 
into any power of loving and growing wise; 
from himself; if therefore, he ascribeth all 
the good of love, and all the truth of wis- 
dom to God, he then becometh a living 
man ; but when he ascribeth them to him- 
self, he becomes a dead man. 

RELIGION. 

Man need not have recourse to a process 
of reasoning to prove his own existence, 
or that of the things subjected to his senses; 
he might, in that case, end in doubting or 
denving; both the one and the other, as 
some have done. He feels, and a conscious- 
ness of his own existence is an ingredient 
of that feeling; he sees, and the existence 
of the object seen is as evident as the act 
of seeing. Reasoning, or the faculty of 
combining means to attain an end, is only 
a power of confirmation. The mind by 
reasoning merely, only opperates on the 



115 

ideas it already has, it arranges and com- 
bines them for presentation to its own eye, 
and then reasoning has discharged its office. 
The ideas themselves and those which their 
new relations suggest, are seen by the 
minds eye, which act of perception, or in- 
tuition, is not reasoning. Reasoning there- 
fore, in itself considered, is not a power of 
perceiving new ideas, but of altering the 
relations of those already seen, and thus 
confirming their truth or falsehood, by the 
new ideas those relations bring before the 
mental sight. It is directed in this oppera- 
tion by a higher faculty ; hence reasoning 
requires that both the end and the means 
be recognized by the faculty which thus 
governs it. It supposes also, the end 
already in the mind, else why should rea- 
soning be exercised to attain it. Who 
would attempt to prove the existance of 
God, for instance, if he had not already an 
idea of some such kind of being? Whether 
that idea be a true one depends originally 
and continually, on something very different 
from reasoning. Hence it is obvious that 
reasoning takes its quality from the end to 
be obtained by it, and that ever depends 
on a man's moral character or governing 
love at the time. If that be evil, reasoning 
becomes evil also. The selection of the 
end and the means is not the office of rea- 
soning, but affection, and the affection gives 



the power of mental vision, by which the 
mind sees both the end which affection se- 
lects and the means to be used to attain or 
confirm it. 

All reasoning from effects to causes is 
founded upon analogy. We know nothing 
of the nature of the relation between any 
two objects until we have some knowledge 
of the qualities of both. Previous to that, 
all reasoning from one to the other is a 
mere transference of known qualities to an 
unknown object, with nothing to guide it 
in their application but some supposed 
analogy. Hence our real knowledge of 
causes rises no higher than actual expe- 
rience. God and nature stand in relation 
to each other as cause and effect ; but so far 
as the cause is not homogeneous with the 
effect, no knowledge of the latter will, of 
itself, advance us one step in the knowl- 
edge of the former 

We have no knowledge of any thing 
above the sphere of nature, till something 
above it has touched the mind and made 
known its quality. All reasoning from na- 
ture to God, being founded upon the sup- 
posed analogy which some known causes 
and effects bear to God and nature, man 
ascribes to God only such qualities as fall 
under his own experience and observation. 
He will not truly call God a spirit, till he 
knows what a spirit is, nor ascribe love and 



117 

wisdom to him till he feels what they are ; 
nor can he see any confirmations of these 
atributes in the works of creation till their 
types exist in his own mind. He cannot 
see that the divine laws are laws of order, 
till order is first operative in his heart and 
life. Power is the only attribute which all 
men have ascribed to the God they wor- 
ship ; but it is only the good man who feels 
that divine power never operates but in di- 
vine love. It is therefore very evident that 
the knowledge of the true God ever de- 
pends on man's truly religious character* 
He must receive gifts from Heaven before 
he can acknowledge the beneficence of the 
giver; he must have cherished purity of 
heart before God can be in his thoughts. 
A knowledge of the true God, cannot be 
derived from the bodily senses, for they 
know only natural objects ; nor from the 
relations of any ideas gained by them, for 
they speak only of things homogeneous 
with themselves. They teach us of phys- 
ical energies only, and the properties of 
matter, and no natural effect can indicate a 
moral and intellectual quality, until the 
mind is already in possession of that quality. 
A house never originally suggested the 
idea of a man, but when one has the quali- 
ties of a man in his mind, he can see the 
relation between him and a house, and per- 
haps gain new ideas of a man's wisdom by 



118 

contemplating its structure, and see the 
genius of the man represented in the house 
he has built. As, therefore, the knowledge 
of the true God cannot be derived from 
outward nature, we must look above it to 
know who and what God is, if we would 
not worship a gaseous, shapeless deity, con- 
sentaneous with the physical energies of 
nature and the purer principles of matter. 
Nor can any affections and thoughts of the 
mind make known who and what God is 
only as man is in "His image and likeness." 
" To whom will ye liken me and make 
equal, and compare me, that we may be 
like." No description of any object can 
make it known to us unless some of its 
qualities are known previously. 

A description of this world, for instance, 
could not convey a single idea to man, un- 
less he had some previous knowledge of 
the things in it ; neither can any descrip- 
tion of God and heaven give man any 
knowledge of them, till something of their 
nature is alread v known. Miracles address- 
ed to the bodily eye, can never confer 
moral affections and thoughts, they can only 
disturb or confirm those already cherished. 
Hence it follows that an idea of the true 
God must be originally a subject of con- 
sciousness, by influx from'a spiritual sphere 
within or above the sphere of nature, and 
totally distinct from it in essense and quali* 



119 

ty ; it must be from God alone, for he alone 
can make known his own quality. It is a 
suggestion that acts in opposition to the 
proper and peculiar dictates of nature. — 
The former speaks of spirit, the latter of 
matter ; the former of havenly wisdom, 
the latter of w r orldly knowledge; the for- 
mer purifies the heart, the latter only sheds 
a false glare in the understanding ; the 
former leads upward and inward, the latter 
downward and outward. One is the still, 
small voice, whose accents are not heard 
till the commotions of man's natural ele- 
ments are in some measure laid to rest, and 
the murmurs of the waters of strife have 
ceased. Then only is its language under- 
stood, which speaks as never man spake ; 
the other is loud and clamorous, and points 
in triumph to the vouchers of its truth, in 
all which the merely natural man has ex- 
perienced. Behold I stand at the door and 
knock, if any man hear my voice and open 
the door, I will enter in and sup with him 
and he with me. 

If then, the first elements of the knowl- 
edge of God be from within, and not from 
without ; if it is God who makes known his 
own quality ; if the suggestion of an invis- 
ible, spiritual Being and spiritual proper- 
ties and affections be at variance with the 
peculiar dictates of the bodily senses; if 
man in heart ascribes to God only such at- 



120 

tributes as have their rudiments in his own 
mind, it is obvious that religious knowledge 
is not a thing of supposition and conjecture, 
but the real experimental knowledge of 
the heart and life. It is obvious that it is 
only as man becomes in some measure like 
God, that he knows what attributes to as- 
cribe to him ; it is only as his heart is pu- 
rified that he knows who God is. He can- 
not put a proper meaning upon the divine 
works until he has proper affections to- 
wards the divine Being. Until then, the 
good and truth man sees, are not genuine, 
but only apparently so. The laws and 
works of God assume a different import, 
they speak a different language, and are 
viewed with different affections, as his heart 
becomes pure. Before that they may in- 
dicate omnipotence and omniscience, di- 
vine anger and divine judgments; but now 
they speak of infinite love and mere} 7 , in- 
finite order and wisdom. Hence it appears 
how higher kinds of affections unite them- 
selves with higher degrees of truth, and 
these again give rise to more elevated affec- 
tions. This is as it should be. It is in the 
heart all true knowledge must begin, and 
there it must end. It is affection that gives 
truth its life, and it is only in affection that 
truth can have power to elevate, and give 
birth to a purer feeling that will elevate 
still, which is the good of truth. 



121 

By experience only can a man become 
acquainted with his own heart ; his confi- 
dence in his own ability to know what is 
good and true, is shaken ; he finds Ihere is 
apparent truth and real truth, and that the 
latter impresses him most powerfully when 
he expects the least from his own strength. 
And as by obedience to the light which 
breaks in above him, his evils become sub- 
dued, he begins to acknowledge the power 
that gives him the victory over them, and 
precisely in accordance with that acknowl- 
edgment is his heart-felt ascription of all 
he feels to be good and true to the Giver 
of the light which enables him to see them 
as such. 

Such is the operation of divine Provi- 
dence to lead man from the external to the 
internal ; from that state, in which strong 
from a misconception of his nature, he 
thinks that goodness and truth originate 
with himself, to that in which he can see 
that the Lord giveth them. When purer 
affections become thus united in the mind 
with more elevated truths, man can look 
back on his way, and perceive that Divine 
Providence, though unseen and unacknowl- 
edged, has ever attended him from the 
innocent affections of infancy, the first seeds 
of his heavenly Father's planting, through 
all the stages of matiirer life, when they have 
been hidden by selfish loves and worldly 
11 



122 

cares. He now knows that the apparent 
truths which had lighted his understanding 
were such as flowed naturally from the 
state of his affections. He feels that the 
Lord had not forsaken him as he strayed 
from the tender loves of infancy, but 
through all his life spoken to him in a lan- 
guage adapted to his different states, and 
genuine truth was not given because it was 
not wanted, and would have been pervert- 
ed. As he comes now to acknowledge one 
master, the Lord, within him, the things he 
had learned under others are illustrated and 
reduced to order by light and power from 
within, so that the scientific and moral truths 
of his external man are made to promote his 
spiritual advancement. And thus the ac- 
quirements of the bodily senses become sub-* 
servient to the hidden man of the heart, and 
the external unites with the internal as its 
evils are removed, to form the perfect man 
unto the measure of the stature of the ful- 
ness of Christ. 

But the lineaments of Divine order can 
be traced even in the disorder which man 
brings within himself, as the ruins of a well 
proportioned edifice may still indicate the 
designs of its projector. Man may pervert 
the powers by which he wills and under- 
stands, but the faculties themselves are not 
destroyed. He may will what is evil, and 
think what is false, but while he remains 
man, he retains the capacity for learning 



123 

true wisdom. He may withhold his eye 
from seeing, and his ear from hearing, but 
truth still iives in his breast, though buried 
by selfish and worldly loves. 

In this way it is that there are rays flow- 
ing from that wisdom which was with God, 
and was God, to reach every grade of the 
mental state, from the perfect man to per- 
verted and obdurate nature ; from him who 
is willing to receive good and truth from 
the Lord, to him who will have none but 
those of his own making. The light of 
heaven, in proceeding from the divine 
source has taken the form of each succeed- 
ing state it has reached, till it has merged 
in a darkness where, if the voice of con- 
science is heard, it is but to make men trem- 
ble and not to purify the heart. Here what 
is called good and truth, is not such as God 
gave, but is transmuted by man's evil affec- 
tions. Here how is the gold become dim, 
and the most fine gold changed ! Yet the 
Lord does not forsake man even here ; he 
speaks in a voice of terror because man is 
not prepared to hear the voice of love.— 
His fatherly care over him is not the less, 
though man has so far removed himself 
from the sphere of his benign presence by 
the evils and disorders of his life, that only 
language clothed in corresponding forms, 
is adapted to his state. Here nothing but 
disorder is seen, and but the threatenings 



124 

of vengeance are felt. The divine Word, 
mindful of the states of all, presents him- 
self under the forms and language of all ; 
he follows man in all his aberrations from 
divine order. Hence there are truths 
in the letter of revelation to reach all, into 
whatever eyil and ignorance they reduce 
themselves. But revelation takes this lan- 
guage in the letter, because it is the highest 
form of good and truth which the natural 
man can receive ; it must descend so low 
to reach the natural man's understanding. 

The Divine Spirit must have some me- 
dium through which it can reach man in 
every state, and serve to lead him back, so 
far as man is willing, to divine order. As 
the works of creation assume a different 
meaning in the human mind when irian is 
elevated to higher goods and truths, so does 
revelation, for they have both one Author, 
and must be filled with the same infinite 
wisdom. The tendency of the human mind 
to self-exaggeration, has sometimes led to 
inferences from the mental endowments of 
the wisest ancient philosophers, which they 
would have disclaimed. Their proximity 
to better light was too obvious to warrant 
them, notwithtanding their pride of phi- 
losophizing, and their moral degradation. 
There was a prevailing conviction with the 
ancient philosophers and law-givers, priests 
and poets, and common people, that unas- 



125 

sisted human reason was incompetent to 
teach man the nature of his God, and of his 
dut} r ; and yet the wisest among them have 
been cited as instances of the perfection to 
which unaided reason can attain. Homer 
says that Minos, the Cretan law-giver, re- 
ceived his religious institutions from Jupi- 
ter, by nine years conversation with him. 

Plato says, that all laws came originally 
from divine inspiration, that virtue is not 
by nature, but a divine gift. Socrates 
says that men become good as some become 
prophets, not by nature but by divine in- 
spiration. The very necessity of self- 
knowledge was to them so obviously taught 
by divine command alone, that the maxim, 
know thyself, was acknowledged to have 
descended from heaven. Ail this, though 
mixed with fables, the meaning of which 
was lost, or clouded by their own devices, 
still proves conclusively, the sense enter- 
tained by the more enlightened among them 
of the necessity of light from a higher 
sphere than that of nature. That this sense 
was that of the common people is also evi- 
dent, or a religious system could not have 
been palmed upon them, for all religious sys- 
tems that ever existed in the world were 
supposed, or professed to be the offspring 
of divine inspiration. 

Knowledge from the revelation made 
subsequently to the Israelites, though less 
11* 



126 

extensively, was in a similar manner spread 
among surrounding nations, and blended 
with that received from a prior source. To 
this has been added, more or less widely, 
light from the Christian dispensation, alike 
blending with the remnants of others. — 
Probably, all nations upon the face of the 
globe have felt some rays, however, receiv- 
ed by them from the revelation of heavenly 
light which has been made to the world at 
different times, like waves from a centre 
which have succeeded each other till the 
very extent of their circumference has pre- 
vented the centre and source of all from 
being recognized. The light of nature is 
only reflected light. Exactly in propor- 
tion as the human mind has been placed in 
a state of freedom by light from revelation, 
have all improvements in civilization and 
the arts and sciences advanced. It was never 
known that a nation immerged from bar- 
barism to any state of civilization without 
such aid, received in some manner. The 
atheist and the deist are indebted to the 
very power thej r combat, for their weapons ; 
the boasters of the light of nature are 
indebted to that of revelation for the eyes 
with which they think they see. 

It is the tendency of knowledge, though 
received in a distorted form, to exalt the 
natural powers of the mind ; hence its nat- 
ural condition varies with its religion, its 



127 

morality and its science. As truth of any 
kind enters into the mind, and that princi- 
ple by which it is actuated, it becomes a 
part of it, a constituent member of the 
mental fabric as it were, the eye by which 
it sees, and the arm with which it acts. 
Man thus receiving increase, his powers 
and faculties thus strengthened and devel- 
oped, assumes a nature, religious, moral or 
intelligent, differing from his former by the 
kind and degree of that development; if 
he is under a false persuasion of his own 
powers, his new possessions are felt as really 
his own, as those of any former state ; thus 
raised, he is placed on a vantage ground of 
observation, and casts his eyes abroad over 
the regions of (ruth, now apparently sub- 
ject to his own vision, and marks them as 
his natural dominions. But all that region 
not so stamped with the seal of ownership, 
he considers as debateable ground, or per- 
haps feels willing to recognize in it the 
right of another proprietor. It is in this 
way that false persuasion leads man to ac- 
count the truths of revelation, as fast as 
they raise him from his former standing, 
and appear within his grasp, his natural, 
rightful possessions. 

Hence those truths, moulded and fashion- 
ed after his own heart, become as it were, 
the common law of his mind, whilst the 
time and manner of their introduction, the 



128 

mode and circumstances of their enactment 
are forgotten, and referred to time imme- 
morial. But others will be judged of by 
the principles which make up that common 
law, the customs and usages already estab- 
lished, or rather by the principle which 
renders them operative in their present 
shape, be that what it will. If they cannot 
be made to accord with these, they appear 
to be laws for which no reason can be given, 
but of arbitrary appointment, unintelligi- 
ble, and repugnant to those already in force. 
They, in consequence of this, become a 
dead letter, they can have no hold on the 
affections, add no gem to the diadem of real 
knowledge, awaken no emotion, but, per- 
chance, that of blind awe or indignation. 
In short, if habit, education, self-interest, 
or indifference, restrain the audacity of in- 
vestigation, they may be called truths of 
revelation, but such as are above reason, 
which reason could not discover, and with 
which it must not concern itself. Thus it 
is that self-love with its attendant, false 
persuasion, forgetting that it receives all 
that is good and true, claim all, and Avould 
extend its dominion even to the throne of 
God himself; and thus the dividing line be- 
tween the light of nature and that of revela- 
tion is drawn by man, and not by God. 

But truth cannot be treated in this way 
and remain uncontaminated. All genuine 



129 

truth which man can have, must be planted 
in real humility of heart ; that is, this is the 
only soil in which truth can grow and re- 
main truth. The very ascription of it to 
self-derived intelligence, at once destroys 
its nature. It must cease to be legitimate 
truth, before it can acknowledge such de- 
rivation. Unadulterated truth must spring 
from unadulterated affection, and be filled 
and actuated by it. It must look in ac- 
knowledgement to Him who is goodness 
and truth itself, whose throne is heaven, 
and whose footstool, the earth ;thus deriv- 
ing life from him who is the life and light 
of the world — or it ceases to have it, and 
becomes the empty shade, the unembodied 
spectre of vanity, or the deformed and ill- 
proportioned product of false persuation. 
Truth must be united with goodness. — 
As man advances in the regeneration, he 
learns, though it cost him many struggles, 
how beautifully the forms of nature can 
yield to the energies of divine grace, and 
apparent truths vanish before that which is 
genuine, simply by humble, hearty and un- 
reserved obedience to Him who appeared 
in nature, that he might raise man to glory. 
He learns how the erring prudence of the 
worldly man can give place to the ration- 
ality and intelligence of the spiritual, and 
finally the latter to celestial wisdom, which 
is in perfect agreement with the wisdom of 



130 

divine Providence ; when feeling that, God 
is love. He dwells in love, dwelling in 
God, and God in him. His conversation is 
then, yea, yea, nay, nay ; for he knows that 
whatever is more than these cometh of evil. 
The word of God no longer speaks to him 
in parables, but shows him plainly of the 
Father. In this state only is he prepared 
to say, from the depth of his heart, not my 
will but thine be done, for then only can 
he fully believe and feel that, what things 
soever the Father doeth, these also doeth 
the Son likewise ; because he then knows, 
by happy experience, that whatever springs 
from divine love, is brought into manifesta- 
tion and accomplishment by divine wisdom. 
His heart, filled with love to God, expands 
correspondently towards his fellow men* 
His love to them is not false and boasting 
charity, but the silent, deep and constant 
love of being useful to them. It is gentle, 
unassuming, yet ardent and incessant love 
for their real good. It is not consistent 
with indifference as to what is truth, or 
whether they be in it or not, for good and 
truth united are its all. Nor does it falsely 
gloss over their characters, and call them 
good in the lump. With heaven-taught 
discrimination, it searches their least ten- 
dency to good, cherishes it, wishes to give 
it more. It leads them, with a kind, yet 
unwavering hand, from what is manifestly 



131 

false and evil in them to greater good and 
truth, and so covers a multitude of sins. — * 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would 

1 have gathered thy children together, even 
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her 
wings. 

Man, then, is no other than the good and 
truth within him, which are no longer sep- 
arate, but united ; not slightly connected 
with the surface, but flowing from the cen- 
tre; not the occasional effervescence of a 
moment, but the steady, equable stream of 
his life. His truth must be vivified and ac- 
tuated, not from without, but from within ; 
the soul must give its power to the body, 
and the body must acknowledge the su- 
premacy of the soul. Such should be the 
order of nature, because such is the order 
of God. 

All power is given to me in heaven and 
in earth, all that the Father hath are mine ; 
the Father is greater than I. Revelation 
is given to instruct man in divine order, 
and the divine Spirit operates to give that 
order life in man. Its energy is not out of, 
but in it ; it manifests that order that itself 
may be manifest in it. 

He that seeth me, seeth him that sent 
me. If a man love me, he will keep my 
words, and my Father will love him, and 
we will come unto him, and make our abode 
with him. 



132 

The Lord gives divine truth to enlighten 
the mind, and quickens that truth to purify 
the feelings. I am the^way, the truth and 
the life. 

As the Father hath life in himself, so hath 
he given to the Son to have life in himself. 
As the Father raiseth up thd dead, and 
quickeneth them, even so the Son quick- 
eneth whom he will. 

He assumed the humanity, and was seen 
by the eye, and glorified it, to make him- 
self felt in the heart. I came forth from 
the Father, and am come into the w r orld. 
Again, I leave the world, and go to the 
Father. 

It is expedient for you that I go away : 
for if I go not away, the comforter will not 
come unto you ; I will not leave you com- 
fortless, I will come unto you. That thus 
the intellect, which acts as one with the 
eye, its eminent bodily organ of intelli- 
gence, might be made one with the will, or 
ruling love, which governs the conduct, and 
man thus have a unity of faith, or belief, 
the glory within him. 

That they all may be one, as thou, 
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they 
also may be one in us, that the world may 
believe that thou hast sent me. And the 
glory which thou gavest me, I have given 
them, that they may be one, even as we are 
one. I in them and thou in me, that they 



133 

be made perfect in one, and that the world 
may know that thou hast sent me, and hast 
loved them, as thou hast loved me. 

Thus the world, seeing the good which 
flows into the church from the Lord, may 
be led to come also and glorify their Father 
in heaven, as well as all subordinate princi- 
ples in each individual of the church, pu- 
rified and reduced to order, thus bow in 
meek subserviency, to that love of the Lord 
which then rules in the soul. 

The letter of revelation, as well as the 
book of nature is, in a measure, addressed 
to the eye ; but it is only the voice of Him 
who fills both the one and the other, 1hat 
speaks to the heart, that developes, recon- 
ciles and unites their language, and gives 
it power to regenerate a man. It is only 
in obeying the truth of revelation, at once 
from the thoughts to the speech, and from 
the heart to the hand, that the language of 
nature becomes the language of God. Rev- 
elation is, then, in what is natural or ra- 
tional, and what is natural or rational in 
revelation, their light cease to be devellent 
forces, and become conjoining powers, re- 
sulting in unity. They no longer teach 
different things, hut one and the same ; and 
man, experiencing in his own heart and 
life the union of goodness and truth, can 
see and feel that love is the essense, and 
wisdom its form ; that the Son is in the 
12 



134 

Father, and the Father in the Son, and no 
longer have his eye fixed on strange gods, 
but worship Him alone, to whom all power 
is given, in heaven and earth, one Lord, 
and his name One. 



THE SPIRITUAL BODY. 

All who worship God conceive or imag- 
ine him in some form or other ; otherwise, 
they worship that of which they have no 
idea, emphatically-, an unknown God. The 
human form is the noblest and most perfect 
which can enter the thought. Therefore 
in this form, God now speaks to us by his 
Son, of whom it is said, that in him dwells 
the fulness of the godhead bodily ; and we 
are directed to look to him as our Redeemer 
and Saviour. Now, if we abstract this form 
from the idea of God, it may take the out- 
line of the visible universe, or identify 
itself with the volume of ether diffused 
through space, and be as shapeless as that 
is. In this case, there is nothing definite 
to fix the mind, and it wanders and fluc- 
tuates with a vague imagination. It is non- 
sense to talk of pure intelligence, if by 
pure is meant without form. 

How does intellect manifest itself, but in 
a human form. Where does intellect re- 
side but in the subject which embodies it? 
Divest it of form, and it is diffused and dis- 



135 

persed like the atmosphere. In attempt- 
ing to conceive of it, the mind looks upon 
nature, or upon nothing, because there is 
then no other basis but nature for the 
thought to rest upon. Such effects spring 
from the propensity which man has ever 
had, to make unto himself a graven image, 
or say in his heart, there is no God. 

The idea which man has of his God, en- 
ters into every part of his religion ; it is 
the soul which animates it, and from which 
it takes its nature and form. Still it is the 
result of his religion, as well as the cause 
of it. He know r s the true God, only as he 
learns to receive instruction from the true 
one. Therefore it is not of small impor- 
tance to man what his idea of God and 
heaven is, for his immortal well-being de- 
pends upon it. 

Man may be in, or may have within him 
heaven or hell. To have the order and 
power of heaven within him, man must 
obey the order and truth of heaven in his 
life ; a new will is, in that measure given 
him, the gift of which he perceives and ac- 
knowledges; love in him then clothes itself 
with wisdom, the Father and the Son thus 
come unto him, and make their abode with 
him. In thus receiving the Lord, man re- 
ceives from him the power to become a 
Son of God, and is born not of blood, nor 
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 



136 

man, but of God. His life is, then, from 
the reception of the divine influences, and 
he has the kingdom of heaven within him. 
We can now see why it is the Spirit which 
quickeneth, and the flesh which profiteth 
nothing. 

The sensual man with his lusts, is put off 
as the spiritual is put oh, by receiving and 
obeying the laws of spiritual life. If man 
so receives the Spirit of truth, his heart 
becomes a living well-spring of it. It is 
not water spilt on the ground, which cannot 
be gathered up ; it is the wholesome and 
vigorous stream springing from the one liv- 
ing source, an everlasting fountain opened 
in Judea and Jerusalem, whose streams are 
received at once in the heart and the un- 
derstanding, for washing away uncleanness. 

The operations of divine Providence for 
man's spiritual good, reach him in some 
form, in every state. They do not cease 
when spiritual light is extinguished by him, 
and nature apparently usurps the province 
of a purer influence. The attributes of 
nature are still brought into practical con- 
formity with the effort of the divine Prov- 
idence concealed within them, and they 
are made indirectly to subserve its end in 
place of better things. The divine gov- 
ernment is, in this way, accommodated to 
all, and thus reaches all, because its end is 
the greatest possible good of all. 



137 

When the human mind cannot be elevat- 
ed by love, it must be controlled by hope 
and fear ; when it cannot be led upwards 
by present good, it must be taught to look 
forward to future good ; when a spiritual 
heaven cannot direct the mind, a natural 
must answer this purpose. In this way, an 
earthly heaven in the land of Canaan w r as 
graciously accorded by divine Providence 
to the Israelites, as the goal to be aimed at, 
because, from their state of mind and life, 
they were capable of nothing better. 

REVELATION AND REASON. 

When our Lord was in the world, the 
authority with which he spake and taught, 
was often manifest to the astonishment of 
the people. And the authority with which 
he now teaches in his Word, is still mani- 
fest to those who are disposed to see and 
feel it. But this can be perceived to any 
useful purpose, only in proportion as we 
cooperate with his spirit, by obedience to his 
commandments. It is in vain that we seek 
from him a mere manifestation of power, a 
sign from Heaven, for this is seeking to in- 
vert the order of his providence. His om- 
nipotence is but the effect and operation of 
his love and wisdom. It sometimes assumes 
among men the external form of miracles 
and mighty works ; but then, as well as at 
12* 



138 

all other times, the principal design is not 
the wonder and astonishment which the ex- 
ternal work produces upon the natural man, 
for the external work itself is but the inci- 
dental effect of the operation of divine love. 
If, then, the miracle be but the external 
covering or manifestation of divine love, a 
messenger of mercy, its principal object 
must be to reveal the love it bears. 

It is not the mere operation of divine 
power, nor of divine wisdom, but of divine 
love. The Father that dwelleth in me, he 
doeth the works. It was for this reason 
that our Lord required faith in those for 
whom a miracle was to be wrought. That 
is, he required some degree of acknowl- 
edgment, that he was able to do the thing ; 
that he proceeded forth and came from God, 
and is entitled to the honor which is a 
prophet's due. His life being a course of 
perfect obedience to the Father within him, 
he became an unresisting medium of divine 
love, and could act in no other way. Veri- 
ly, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do 
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the 
Father do : for what things soever he doeth, 
these also doeth the Son likewise. 

When, therefore, our Lord taught in his 
own country, though many hearing him, 
were astonished ; yet, because they did not 
give him the honor that was his due, and 
acknowledge the Father to dwell within 



139 

him, but said, Whence hath this man these 
things ? Is not this the carpenter ? and 
were offended at him. It is written, he 
could there do no mighty work, save that 
he laid his hands on a few sick folk, and 
healed them. Their incredulity was suffi- 
cient, even to stop up the issues of his 
miraculous power; for the divine love, the 
sole fountain of all, could find no abiding 
place in their unbelieving hearts. To 
work miracles for the conversion of such 
men, would be to act contrarv to the laws 
of divine order, and therefore he could not 
do it. For he was himself the way, the 
truth, and the life, and came not to do his 
own will, but did always those things which 
were pleasing to the Father, who sent him. 

The relation in which human reason 
should stand to the authority of such a 
teacher, is that of profound submission and 
obedience. And the only office which rea- 
son has in the business, is in ascertaining 
what is the import of the divine commands; 
this being done, reason has no right to de- 
mur, because it does not square with her 
preconceived opinions, for the Lord's ways 
are not as our ways, nor his thoughts our 
thoughts. The incompetency of reason to 
the discovery of spiritual truth, is suppos- 
ed in the very idea of a revelation. 

The truths of revelation are not the re- 
sult of human research and inquiry, but a 



140 

ray of light from the supreme Intelligence, 
the Father of Light, descending into the 
world, and addressing itself, even to the 
reason of mankind. For we have not cho- 
sen him, but he has chosen us. But reve- 
lation does not descend so low, and so ac- 
commodate itself to the reason of man, that 
he may sit in judgment upon it, and turn 
what light there may be in him into dark- 
ness, by pronouncing it absurd, and reject- 
ing it as irrational. It descends into the 
human mind that it may again ascend unto 
the Father and Fountain of all right reason ; 
and in its ascent, it would fain draw all men 
unto it. It would elevate them above the 
reason of the natural understanding, and 
illuminate the mind with the light of life. 
The elevation and illumination of reason 
then, is the very object of revelation, and 
he who would reject its doctrines because 
they are at variance with some of the dic- 
tates of his reason, would act like the tiger, 
who should hastily destroy the hand in 
kindness stretched out to feed him. Far 
happier is the lot of those, who, being sat- 
isfied of the authority of revelation, exer- 
cise their reason merely in ascertaining 
what it means, without presuming to gain- 
say or resist its doctrines. 

On this subject, of arriving at a true 
knowledge of the doctrines of revelation, 
there is an appointed way, which is through 



141 

obedience to the commandments; there is 
no promise that we shall ever know the 
doctrine of the Lord but by doing his will. 
It was by obedience, perfect indeed, that 
our Lord was glorified and made divine. 
It is by obedience that man must be regen- 
erated, and made like unto the angels. — 
This brings us at once to the grand test of 
truth; its practical character ; its capabili- 
ty of being united in the understanding 
with goodness in the will, whence flows a 
clearness of perception, and a fulness of 
joy, known only to those who have expe- 
rienced it. The effect of obedience is to 
qualify a man for new victories over him- 
self; this is the strife in which he desires 
to go on conquering and to conquer. He 
does not seek for truth, to be delighted with 
its splendor and beauty, but to obey it as his 
lord and master. His prayer is, that his 
eyes may be opened ; but he does not for- 
get that the wondrous things which he is 
to see, are out of the law of the Lord. 
They are not revealed to him, except in 
the form of a rule of life. All the obedi- 
ence he can yield, does only prepare him 
for obedience still more perfect. His duty 
becomes his delight, and he finds it ever 
ready before him. And were it possible 
for him to render his obedience perfect, 
and finish the work that is given him to do, 
he would become an unresisting medium 



142 

of divine love ; and the continued language 
of his heart would be, not as I will, but as 
thou wilt. Our Lord came not into the 
world to condemn the world, but that the 
world through him might be saved. His 
object was, to take away the sin of the 
world. The law which he came to fulfil, 
was not the law of man, but the law of God. 

And as it was with the Lord himself, 
while in the world, so is it with his word, 
which is still in the world ; and in the life 
and spirit of which, he is himself with us 
always, even- unto the end of the world. 
It is not enough that we form our opinions 
and sentiments from our own natural rea- 
son, and then, in our disputes with each 
other about what is true, merely appeal to 
his Word as the umpire to settle the diffi- 
culty, and award the palm of victoiy. 

The words of the Lord, are spirit, and 
they are life ; and it is not their office to 
decide which of the conflicting claims of 
human reason is the best founded, but to 
fill the heart with true wisdom, when hu- 
man reason will humble itself in the dust. 
It still seems good in the sight of our heav- 
enly Father, to hide these things from the 
wise and prudent, and reveal them unto 
babes. When, therefore, human reason 
presumes to arraign at its bar the oracles of 
the living God, and to judge them by its 
own measure, they stand mute before it. 



143 

Though we question them in many words, 
they answer us nothing; for if they tell us, 
we will not believe, and if they ask us, we 
will not answer. The only response that 
can be made, is an assertion of their own 
divinity ; and wretched must be the state 
of those, who, like the chief priests of the 
Jews, hear nothing in it but blasphemy. 

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE. 

We are repeatedly assured by the Lord, 
that every one that asketh, receiveth. Yet 
it is well known that we do not always re- 
ceive the things that we desire and ask for. 
The inquiry, then arises, how is this prom- 
ise to be understood. 

Taking a general view of the subject, we 
are not to understand, by asking the ex- 
pression of our desires in prayer for partic- 
ular things which we suppose would be 
good for us. But we shall remember, that 
our own state, even from the inmost, is ex- 
posed to the knowledge of God. That he 
knows what things we have need of; and 
in his sight, those are the things which we 
ask for — those are the things which he 
loves to bestow. 

In this view of the subject, the word ask 
seems to be equivalent to the word need, 
and it may be useful to keep this fact in 
mind. What we need, is continually pro- 



144 

vided for us. The Divine Providence 
adapts and prepares every thing for our 
good ; and in this adaptation, our need — 
our whole state, which is the expression of 
all that is past and all that is within, is per- 
petually regarded. It is with reference to 
this view of the signification of asking, that 
our Lord refers us to the omniscience of our 
Father in heaven, and directs us to consider 
the lilies of the field, and the fowls of the air. 
That the Lord knows our wants, is not 
merely matter of speculation, but of feel- 
ing. That he will provide for them, is not 
merely matter of faith, but of joy. We 
not only regard his power* as omnipotent, 
and his wisdom as omniscient, but his will 
as pure and infinite mercy. We therefore 
rejoice that it is unchangeable. We no lon- 
ger pray in order to change it, but to be 
changed by it. When we ask that it may 
be done, we remember that it is free and 
full as the sun and rain. We remember, 
also, that all that hinders and obstructs is in 
ourselves. We pra} r that the will of God 
may be done, in proportion as we cease to 
have any will of our own, and in the same 
proportion our prayer is answered. 



Erratas.— lT9th pnge, 5th line from top, for imagine, read image. 
110th pa-je, 5th line from bottom, for sworn, read sown. 



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